Israel says ceasefire back on after strikes kill more than 100 in Gaza

Israel declared Wednesday that the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was restored after carrying out intense strikes in the Palestinian enclave that killed 100 people, including children, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli military said it had “begun to re-enforce” the fragile ceasefire after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered “powerful” strikes on the territory as Israel and Hamas exchanged accusations of ceasefire violations.

Dozens of targets were hit in the attack, the statement said, posing the most serious threat yet to the truce brokered in part by President Donald Trump.

Dr. Khalil Al-Daqran, a spokesman for the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, told NBC News that more than 104 people had been killed, including more than 40 children and 20 women, since Tuesday evening in the deadly strikes. He said more than 250 people, including more than 70 children, were also injured.

Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, reported the same assessment.

Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for Gaza’s civil defense agency, said the strikes “targeted houses, tents and gatherings in various towns”, with heavy shelling. He added that the assault continued into the morning, and that the toll “was expected to rise.”

An Israeli Defense Forces official told NBC News that the order to carry out the strikes was a result of Hamas allegedly attacking soldiers in the Rafah area of ​​southern Gaza, in an area controlled by Israel. NBC News could not independently verify this claim.

The Israeli military announced that an Israeli reserve soldier identified as Staff Sgt. (Reserve) Yona Efraim Feldbaum had been killed in Rafah. Hanan Greenwood, a spokesperson for Binyamin Regional Council, told NBC News on Wednesday that Feldbaum, 37, held a US passport.

Hamas denied any involvement in the incident, calling the Israeli strikes a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement, as the group urged mediators to intervene and pressure Israel to end its attacks.

Israel had previously blamed Hamas for a similar attack in Rafah that claimed the lives of 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 reporters on Air Force One: “The Israelis are fighting back, and they should fight back when that happens.”

He nevertheless maintained that the truce in Gaza was not under threat, adding that Hamas represented only a “very small part” of peace in the Middle East.

“They said they would be good, and if they are, they will be happy,” he said. “And if they’re not good, they’ll be fired.”

Vice President JD Vance also said that “the ceasefire is holding,” adding, “That doesn’t mean there won’t be little skirmishes here and there.”

Tensions also increased over the return of hostage remains.

The militant group has returned all living hostages remaining held in Gaza, but has not yet succeeded in returning the remains of all hostages who died in the enclave.

Hamas and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which helped facilitate the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by Israel, had warned that it would be difficult to locate the bodies under the rubble in Gaza.

But on Tuesday, Hamas was accused by Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement after returning body parts identified as belonging to Ofir Tzarfati, whose remains had already been returned to Israel about two years ago during a military operation.

The Israeli military also released footage it said showed Hamas organizing the recovery of hostage remains, with the footage appearing to show people carrying what appeared to be a white shroud from a building and covering it with dirt before then uncovering the area in front of a recovery team.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ICRC addressed the incident, saying its teams “did not know that a deceased person had been placed there before their arrival, as shown in the images” and that it was “unacceptable” that a “false recovery” was organized. Hamas has not yet publicly addressed the issue.