JERUSALEM (Realist English). Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to launch “powerful strikes” on targets in Gaza, hours after Israel accused Hamas of firing on its troops and violating the fragile ceasefire mediated by the United States.
Eyewitnesses in Gaza City reported Israeli warplanes launching airstrikes as explosions and tank fire were heard across several districts of the Strip. The renewed violence marks the most serious test yet for the truce that has largely held since early October.
Netanyahu’s order came after the IDF reported Hamas gunfire against Israeli units operating in southern Gaza and following Hamas’s return of remains that Israel said belonged to a hostage recovered earlier in the war. Netanyahu condemned the move as a “clear violation” of the ceasefire, which requires Hamas to promptly hand over all hostage remains.
Ceasefire on the brink
In a sign of escalating tensions, Israeli troops came under fire Tuesday in the southern city of Rafah, returning fire after being attacked, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Israel believes 13 bodies of hostages remain in Gaza. Hamas said earlier Tuesday it had recovered one set of remains but later delayed the handover following Israel’s announcement of renewed strikes.
An Associated Press videographer in Khan Younis saw what appeared to be a white body bag being carried from a tunnel by several men, some masked, before being loaded into an ambulance. It was not immediately confirmed whether the bag contained a hostage’s remains.
The slow and disputed recovery of hostage bodies has become a major obstacle to implementing the next phase of the ceasefire, which is expected to tackle even more contentious issues — including the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international peacekeeping force, and the future governance of Gaza.
Accusations and delays
Hamas claims it is struggling to locate the bodies amid the extensive devastation caused by months of bombardment. Israel, however, accuses the group of deliberately delaying the process to gain leverage.
Over the weekend, Egypt sent a team of engineers and heavy machinery to assist in recovering remains, continuing work in Khan Younis and Nuseirat as of Tuesday.
This is the second dispute over returned remains since the ceasefire began on October 10. Earlier, Israel said one of the bodies turned over by Hamas was later identified as an unrelated Palestinian civilian.
During a previous truce in February, Hamas claimed it had returned the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, abducted in 2023, but forensic tests revealed that one of the remains belonged to a Palestinian woman. Bibas’s body was handed over a day later.
As the ceasefire wavers, Israel’s strikes signal growing frustration with Hamas’s compliance — and highlight the fragile balance of diplomacy and force shaping Gaza’s uncertain future.
