Israel says Gaza strikes hit terrorists, weapons sites after ceasefire breach

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday that strikes across Gaza were carried out in response to what it described as a ceasefire violation in which eight terrorists were identified emerging from underground terrorist infrastructure in eastern Rafah.

The Israeli military said it struck four commanders and other Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists, as well as a weapons storage center. A weapons manufacturing site and two launch sites belonging to Hamas in central Gaza were also hit, the Israeli military said.

Gaza hospitals run by the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry said at least 30 Palestinians were believed to have been killed in the strikes, according to the Associated Press.

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Rescuers carry the body of a victim amid debris following an Israeli airstrike on a police station in Gaza City on January 31, 2026, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images)

Hospital officials said the victims included civilians. According to them, among the victims are two women and six children from two different families. An airstrike also hit a police station in Gaza City, killing at least 14 people and injuring others, Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said.

The strikes came a day after Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire. An Israeli military official told the AP that the strikes were carried out in response to ceasefire violations, but declined to comment on specific targets.

The violence occurred a day before the Rafah border crossing with Egypt reopened, a move seen as a key step in the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire. This phase includes limited border reopenings, efforts to demilitarize Gaza, and discussions about post-war governance.

Israel said the Rafah crossing was the focus of concerns over weapons smuggling by Hamas and that security arrangements would accompany any reopening.

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Rescuers carry the body of a victim amid debris following an Israeli airstrike on a police station in Gaza City on January 31, 2026, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel had agreed to a “limited reopening” of the crossing as part of President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan.

Israel said it continued to carry out strikes across the region in response to violations of ceasefire agreements. The Israeli military said on Friday it had struck Hezbollah infrastructure and engineering vehicles in southern Lebanon, accusing the group of trying to reestablish terrorist infrastructure in violation of agreements with Israel.

Separately, a senior Israeli military official acknowledged that the Israeli military believes the overall death toll from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry is largely accurate, according to the Times of Israel. The military estimates that around 70,000 Gazans have been killed during the more than two-year conflict sparked by the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

Rescuers and bystanders stand amid the rubble of a police station following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on January 31, 2026, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images)

Gaza’s Health Ministry currently reports 71,667 deaths, including more than 450 since the October 2025 ceasefire, although Israeli officials have said that estimate does not include bodies believed to be buried under rubble.

Gaza’s health ministry said 509 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire began on October 10.

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Israel also returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians on Thursday, days after recovering the remains of the last Israeli hostage, a Gaza Health Ministry official said, according to the AP.

This transfer marked the last hostage-detainee exchange as part of the first phase of the ceasefire.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.