Israel said on Wednesday that the ceasefire in Gaza Strip It resumed operations after carrying out intense attacks on the Palestinian enclave that killed 100 people, including children, local health officials said.
The Israeli military said it had “begun to resume compliance” with the fragile ceasefire after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered “powerful” strikes on Israeli and Hamas territory exchange of accusations ceasefire violations.
The attack hit dozens of targets, it said, posing the most serious threat to a truce brokered in part by the president. Donald Trump.
Dr. Khalil al-Dakran, the Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman in the Gaza Strip, told NBC News that the deadly strikes have killed more than 104 people since Tuesday evening, including more than 40 children and 20 women. According to him, more than 250 people were also injured, including more than 70 children.
Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, reported a similar death toll.
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for Gaza's civil defense agency, said the strikes “targeted houses, tents and gatherings in various cities” and were accompanied by heavy shelling. He added that the assault continued into the morning and the death toll was “expected to rise.”
An Israel Defense Forces spokesman told NBC News that the order for the strikes was the result of an alleged Hamas attack on soldiers in the southern Gaza Strip region of Rafah, under Israeli control. NBC News could not independently verify this claim.
The IDF announced that an Israeli reservist soldier known as Staff Sergeant (ret.) Yona Ephraim Feldbaum was killed in Rafah. Hanan Greenwood, a spokesman for the Binyamin Regional Council, told NBC News on Wednesday that Feldbaum, 37, holds a U.S. passport.
Hamas has denied any involvement in the incident, calling the Israeli strikes a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement as the group called on mediators to intervene and pressure Israel to stop its attacks.
Israel had previously accused Hamas reported a similar attack in Rafah that killed two soldiers earlier this month, with the militant group also denying involvement at the time.
President Donald Trump expressed support for Israel's actions, telling Air Force One reporters: “The Israelis are striking back, and they must strike back when it happens.”
However, he insisted that the Gaza truce was not in danger, adding that Hamas was a “very small part” of peace in the Middle East.
“They said they would be fine and if they were good they would be happy,” he said. “And if they are not good, they will be fired.”
vice president JD Vance It similarly states that “the truce is being held,” adding, “That doesn’t mean there won’t be a little skirmish here and there.”
Tensions are also rising over the return of the hostages' remains.
The militant group has returned all living hostages remaining in Gaza, but has so far failed to return the remains of all dead hostages in the enclave.
Both Hamas and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which helped facilitate the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel, warned that it would be difficult to find bodies under the rubble of Gaza.
But on Tuesday Hamas was accused by Israel for violating a ceasefire agreement after returning body parts that were determined to belong to Ophir Tsarfati, whose remains had already been returned to Israel about two years ago in a military operation.
The Israeli military also released footage it said showed Hamas staging the return of the hostages' remains. The footage shows people carrying what appears to be a white shroud out of the building and covering it with dirt before revealing the area in front of the rescue team.
In a statement on Wednesday, the ICRC recounted the incident, saying its teams were “unaware that a deceased person had been placed there before their arrival, as seen on video footage” and that staging a “fake recovery” was “unacceptable.” Hamas has yet to speak publicly on the matter.
Matt Bradley, Paul Goldman And Omer Bekin contributed.
