Israel launches ‘forceful strikes’ on Gaza following Hamas attack on IDF troops amid frail ceasefire

Israeli Defence Forces have launched “forceful strikes” in southern Gaza following accusations from Jerusalem that Hamas violated the US-brokered ceasefire.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed the intensified attacks after Hamas was blamed for firing an antitank missile and live rounds at IDF soldiers in Rafah.

An Israeli official told the Jerusalem Post, “The response to (Hamas’s) current violations will be much more significant than the response last time.”

Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office stated, “Following security consultations, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the military to immediately carry out powerful strikes in the Gaza Strip.”

Within minutes, Hamas’s armed wing responded by announcing a delay in handing over another hostage’s body, planned for Tuesday evening local time, warning that any Israeli “escalation will hinder the search, excavation, and recovery of the bodies.”

Defence Minister Israel Katz declared Hamas would face a “great force” for breaking the ceasefire by attacking IDF troops.

Mr Katz said, “The attack on IDF soldiers in Gaza today by the Hamas terror organisation crosses a glaring red line to which the IDF will respond with great force.”

He added, “Hamas will pay many times over for attacking the soldiers and for violating the agreement to return the fallen hostages.”

This followed claims that Hamas broke the ceasefire after returning partial remains of a previously recovered hostage’s body rather than the full body of another deceased captive.

Hamas handed over what it described as the 16th of 28 hostage bodies under the ceasefire agreement effective since October 10.

However, Israeli forensic examination revealed the remains were partial and belonged to a hostage whose body had already been recovered by Israeli forces about two years ago, according to Netanyahu’s office statement.

The remains were identified as those of Ofir Tzarfati, kidnapped at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, and whose body was recovered in November 2023. Netanyahu’s office called it a “clear violation of the agreement,” noting the remains were “of the fallen hostage Ofir Tzarfati, who had been returned from the Gaza Strip in a military operation about two years ago.”

Israel’s military also accused Hamas of staging the search for a hostage’s remains, despite agreeing to hand over 28 bodies under the ceasefire. The military released drone footage purportedly showing Hamas operatives removing remains from a prepared location and burying them nearby, only for a bulldozer to unearth them shortly after.

The military statement said, “The Hamas terrorist organisation summoned representatives of the Red Cross and staged a false display of discovering a deceased hostage’s body.” The footage showed three individuals wearing red vests.

“This footage clearly shows that the Hamas terrorist organisation is attempting to create a false impression of efforts to locate the bodies, while in fact holding deceased hostages whose remains it refuses to release as required by the agreement,” the statement on X added.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government to act, stating, “In light of Hamas’s severe breach of the agreement last night … the Israeli government cannot and must not ignore this, and must act decisively against these violations.” The forum said, “Hamas knows the location of the hostages and continues to act with contempt, deceiving the United States and mediators while dishonouring our loved ones.”

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem countered on Monday, calling claims that Hamas knew where the missing bodies were “false” and stated Israel’s ongoing bombardment had made locations unrecognisable. “We are determined to hand over the bodies of the Israeli captives as soon as possible,” he said.