launched strikes on Gaza on Tuesday after Prime Minister accused of violating a and ordered the military to carry out “powerful” attacks.
A statement from Netanyahu’s office did not specify the reason for the strikes, but an Israeli military official said Hamas had breached the truce by attacking Israeli forces in a controlled area.
Netanyahu also accused Hamas of violating the agreement by returning the wrong remains during a hostage repatriation process. Israel said the remains were those of Ofir Tzarfati, whose body was recovered nearly two years ago, calling the handover a “clear violation” of the US-brokered deal.
Later on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that the military was going back to the ceasefire.
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Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza
According to health authorities in Gaza, Tuesday’s strikes killed at least 81 people. The French AFP news agency put the toll at 101, citing Gaza’s civil defense agency.
Witnesses reported attacks by Israeli planes across the strip into early Wednesday.
The IDF said it struck “over 30 terrorists holding command positions within the terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip.”
The latest attacks followed a statement by Netanyahu’s office saying he had ordered immediate “powerful attacks.”
The statement came after the prime minister held talks with security heads to discuss Israel’s response to “violations” of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
The US-backed ceasefire agreement went into effect on October 10, pausing two years of open war preceded by the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Both sides have accused each other of violations of the agreement.
On Tuesday, as Israel was renewing its attacks on the Palestinian enclave, US Vice President JD Vance said the ceasefire was holding despite “skirmishes here and there.”
What prompted Israel’s latest attack on Gaza?
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli media reported an exchange of fire in southern Gaza.
Israel also reacted angrily to news that the human remains authorities received from Hamas on Monday were not those of a further person taken hostage by militants on October 7, 2023, but rather, they belonged to the dead body of another hostage Israeli forces had already recovered some two years ago.
Netanyahu’s office called the incident a “clear violation of the agreement.”
The ceasefire agreement obliges Hamas to return the human remains of all hostages in its control as soon as possible.
Hamas insists the problem is that hostage bodies are buried under tons of rubble from the two years of war, making them hard to find. Israel says the militants are simply dragging their feet.
The group Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged Israel to take action, saying: “The Israeli government cannot and must not ignore this, and must act decisively against these violations.”
Hamas said it recovered another hostage’s body on Tuesday but delayed the handover after Israel announced plans to strike Gaza. It later added that two more hostages were also found.
Edited by:Kieran Burke
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