Israeli warplanes have attacked Gaza City. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The military was ordered to"immediately launch massive attacks in the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu's office announced on Tuesday. According to the Gaza Strip's Civil Defense Agency, at least two people were killed and four others injured in the Israeli attack on the Sabra neighborhood south of Gaza City.
Two years after the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas and its allies attacked Israel and the resulting war in the Gaza Strip, a ceasefire came into effect on October 10. According to eyewitnesses, the Israeli airstrikes targeted an area near the largest functioning hospital in northern Gaza City. They said the number of possible casualties is unknown. Media affiliated with the radical Islamist Hamas group also reported on the shelling.
Israel's Defense Minister: Hamas will pay a high price
According to a media report, a firefight had previously broken out in the southern Gaza Strip despite the ceasefire. The Israeli army broadcaster reported that armed Hamas members had fired on Israeli soldiers. According to Palestinian eyewitnesses, this was followed by artillery shelling of several areas in the Rafah region. All reports cannot currently be independently verified.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Hamas would pay a"high price for the attack on Israeli soldiers in Gaza and for violating the agreement on the return of the slain hostages." With the attack, Hamas had crossed a"red line." The Israeli army would respond with extreme severity. Hamas would pay double and triple, Katz said.
More than 90 Palestinians killed despite ceasefire
Since the start of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on October 10 as part of US President Donald Trump's peace plan, there have been repeated fatal incidents. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 90 Palestinians have already been killed. Just over a week ago, two Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack with an RPG.
Hamas: Will postpone handover of remains
The armed wing of Hamas announced that the handover of the discovered remains of a hostage, planned for Tuesday, would be postponed. The reason given was Israel's violation of the ceasefire, which both parties to the conflict accuse each other of. The handover of all hostages taken to the Gaza Strip—including the remains of the dead hostages—to Israel is part of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.
The handover of hostage remains has always been handled by representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). On Monday evening, Hamas handed over another set of remains. However, forensic investigations in Israel revealed that they belonged to an Israeli whose body the army had already brought to Israel in the fall of 2023. This sparked great anger and outrage in Israel and prompted Netanyahu's security meeting to discuss the next steps.
Delay in handing over hostage bodies
Under US President Donald Trump's peace plan, Hamas was supposed to hand over a total of 28 hostage bodies more than two weeks ago. However, the terrorist organization has not yet handed over 13 bodies, citing the difficult conditions on the ground. According to media reports, Israel is now considering, among other things, expanding the territory it still controls in the coastal strip as a counter-reaction to the delay.
