Sunday saw Israel unleash its most intense wave of attacks on Gaza since a delicate cease-fire was implemented a week prior. This escalation came with an announcement: Israel is pausing humanitarian aid deliveries to the territory, citing accusations that Hamas fired on its forces and violated the existing truce.
However, Israel quickly clarified that it has no intention of abandoning the cease-fire entirely, and Hamas, for its part, reiterated its commitment to upholding the agreement.
The flow of crucial humanitarian aid into Gaza has been stopped until further notice, a decision confirmed by two anonymous Israeli officials due to the sensitive nature of the information.
This latest series of events marks a critical point, with both Israel and Hamas now accusing each other of violating the truce following multiple outbreaks of violence over the last three days.
The Israeli military reported on Sunday that Palestinian militants attacked its forces stationed along the cease-fire lines in Gaza, prompting retaliatory airstrikes. According to the military, Palestinian fighters first launched an anti-tank missile at their troops, then opened fire in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, an area that remains under Israeli control as per the cease-fire terms.
Labeling this a ‘blatant violation’ of the truce, the Israeli military confirmed it responded with strikes in the area, aiming to ‘eliminate the threat’ and dismantle underground tunnel systems and other military infrastructure. Later on Sunday, these attacks intensified, targeting dozens of Hamas sites across the Gaza Strip.
In response, Hamas’s military wing issued a statement claiming to be ‘unaware of any events or clashes taking place in the Rafah area,’ indicating they had lost contact with their fighters in that zone.
Additionally, Israeli forces engaged a group identified as armed militants attempting to cross the cease-fire line in northern Gaza, as stated by an Israeli military official who spoke anonymously under standard army protocols.
Gaza’s health ministry reported 14 Palestinian fatalities between midnight and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, though it did not specify whether they were combatants or civilians. The Israeli military has not yet released any statements regarding casualties.
While the military’s statement avoided naming Hamas directly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explicitly blamed the group for the recent violence. He confirmed consultations with his defense minister and security chiefs, issuing directives for a forceful response against militant targets in Gaza.
Hamas further stated that it has had no communication with its fighters in the Rafah area since a previous temporary cease-fire collapsed in March, and therefore, it asserts ‘no connection to any events taking place in those areas.’
A separate statement from Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq on Sunday accused Israel of consistently violating the truce and manufacturing ‘flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes.’
This follows an incident on Friday when the Israeli military reportedly fired on a vehicle in northern Gaza, resulting in the deaths of at least nine people, including four children, according to a Gaza rescue service affiliated with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.
Regarding the Friday incident, the Israeli military explained that the vehicle had crossed into a demarcation zone where Israeli forces had pulled back as part of the cease-fire. They stated that their troops opened fire on the ‘suspicious’ vehicle after it failed to heed warning shots.
Despite repeated warnings from the Israeli military for civilians to avoid crossing the newly established lines or approaching troops in Israeli-held zones, many Gazans—struggling with limited internet access, confusing maps, or simply disoriented in the devastated enclave—have at times inadvertently entered restricted areas.
The latest outbreak of violence on Sunday immediately prompted hard-line members of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government to demand a full recommencement of Israel’s offensive against Hamas, the militant group responsible for the October 7, 2023, attack that initiated the war.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the ultranationalist Minister of National Security, vehemently called for fighting to resume ‘at full strength,’ asserting that any belief in Hamas’s adherence to the cease-fire was ‘predictably proving dangerous to our security.’
Mr. Ben-Gvir was among those far-right ministers who initially opposed the cease-fire, advocating instead for a continued fight until Hamas was completely defeated.
Israel currently maintains control over approximately half of Gaza’s territory and has accused Hamas fighters of operating from tunnels beneath these Israeli-controlled areas.
Israeli officials have also voiced their frustration regarding the slow progress of Hamas in returning the remains of deceased captives, an agreed-upon condition of the cease-fire deal.
Over the past week, Hamas has released the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages and delivered the bodies of 12 captives, as confirmed by the Israeli government. However, a 13th body transferred by Hamas was later determined by forensic experts not to belong to any of the identified captives.
In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and transferred the bodies of over 100 Palestinians to Gaza.
Late Saturday, Israel identified two deceased hostages whose bodies were returned: Ronen Engel, 54, and Sonthaya Oakkharasri, 30, a Thai national who had been working in agriculture in Be’eri, an Israeli border community.
Mr. Engel was killed in Nir Oz, another Israeli border community devastated during the Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023, and his body was subsequently taken to Gaza.
The Israeli government reports that the remains of 16 other captives are still believed to be in Gaza.
Hamas has consistently stated that locating and recovering all remaining bodies is a challenging task, with some buried deep under rubble, necessitating heavy machinery for extraction.