Ceasefire unravels: Gaza sees deadly strikes; aid flows suspended

JERUSALEM — Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza on Sunday after what it said was a Hamas attack on its forces, adding to the death toll of the two-year-old war and undermining a delicate U.S.-brokered ceasefire that had brought some relief to the besieged enclave.

The day was marked by accusations, with each side accusing the other of violating the agreement that President Trump, six days earlier, said would usher in “a golden age” of peace in the Middle East.

The ceasefire forced Israel to end its months-long blockade of the enclave, but Israel said Sunday it had once again cut off aid flows, potentially plunging Gaza once again into famine, even as aid groups clamored for additional supplies by truck.

Sunday’s strikes posed the biggest challenge to an uneasy truce put in place on Oct. 10 after intense diplomacy — and much pressure on the warring sides — by Trump and a group of Arab and Islamic countries to stop the fighting and end a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and virtually razed much of Gaza.

Live broadcasts on Sunday showed plumes of smoke rising across the Gaza Strip as Israeli warplanes struck several areas in Rafah, Khan Yunis and Deir al Balah, killing at least 15 people, Palestinian health officials said. The Israeli army said a soldier and an officer were killed.

In a statement, the Israeli military accused the Hamas militant group of firing an anti-tank missile at troops in southern Gaza, calling the attack a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.” The military added that it had responded “to eliminate the threat and dismantle tunnel shafts and military structures used for terrorist activities.”

Later, local media reported dozens of attacks carried out by Hamas.

An injured Palestinian child is brought to Nasser Hospital after an Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis, Gaza, October 19, 2025.

(Jehad Alshrafi / Associated Press)

“Hamas will pay a heavy price for every shot and every violation of the ceasefire,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. “If the message is not understood, our response will become increasingly harsh. »

The Israeli military said the targets included “weapons storage facilities, infrastructure used for terrorist activities, firing points, terrorist cells and other terrorist infrastructure sites.” [nearly 4 miles] of underground terrorist infrastructures, using more than 120 munitions.

Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, denied any links to the violence in Rafah, saying it was “not aware of any events or clashes taking place in the Rafah area” and had had no contact with any of its fighters since March, when Israel broke an earlier ceasefire.

Izzat al-Risheq, a senior Hamas official, insisted that it was Israel – and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – that continued to violate the agreement and fabricate “flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes”.

“Netanyahu’s attempts to evade and renege on his commitments come under pressure from his extremist terrorist coalition, in an attempt to evade his responsibilities to mediators and guarantors,” Al-Risheq wrote on his Telegram messaging app channel.

Hamas says Israel has violated the ceasefire 47 times, killing 38 Palestinians and injuring 143 since the truce began on October 10.

Israeli twins Gali and Ziv Berman, recently released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, are welcomed home upon their return from Beit Guvrin hospital, Israel, October 19, 2025.

(Ariel Schalit/Associated Press)

Hamas has since handed over 20 live hostages kidnapped during its October 7, 2023 operation, which started the war; in exchange, Israel released more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Hamas also returned the bodies of 12 other hostages who died in captivity and said it was still searching for the remains of 16 others.

The Qassam Brigades said in a statement on Sunday that they had found another body and would deliver it to Israel that day “if conditions on the ground permit”. He added that any escalation “would hamper the search, excavation and recovery of bodies”.

Israel still controls just over half of Gaza’s territory.

Sunday’s violence sparked calls from Israeli leaders across the political spectrum for a return to the fight against Hamas. A Netanyahu rival – Israeli politician Benny Gantz – said “all options must be on the table”.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultranationalist minister in Netanyahu’s government who was against any truce with Hamas, said fighting should resume “with maximum force.” His right-wing ally, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, tweeted a single word: “War!

Details about what motivated the Israeli attack remain scant. Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot reported that the incident began at 10 a.m., when Hamas fighters emerged from a tunnel and fired an anti-tank missile at an engineering vehicle. This was followed by sniper fire at another vehicle.

But a Palestinian channel on Telegram, considered close to Hamas, said the target was a Palestinian militia that had worked throughout the war with Israel.

The militia’s leader, Yasser Abu Shabab, did not respond to questions sent to the militia’s email address.

Relatives cry as the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire are brought to Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza, October 19, 2025.

(Abdel Kareem Hana / Associated Press)

The violence comes a day after the State Department said in a rare weekend statement that there were “credible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the population of Gaza.”

The State Department warned that “if Hamas continued this attack, measures would be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire.”

In response, Hamas rejected what it called the “US allegations” as “false” and said they “fully align with misleading Israeli propaganda.” He accused Israel of supporting “criminal gangs” which he said were attacking Palestinian civilians.

The “criminal gangs” apparently referred to militias vying with Hamas for control of Gaza. Last week, a video was released showing what is believed to be Hamas members executing accused collaborators in Gaza.

Last week, Trump highlighted Gaza’s internal conflicts when he reiterated his demand that Hamas respect a key part of the 20-point peace deal: disarmament. Otherwise, Hamas warned Trump, “we will have no choice but to go in and kill them.”

The war began after Hamas-led militants launched a blitzkrieg attack in southern Israel and killed about 1,200 people, two-thirds of whom were civilians, according to Israeli authorities, and kidnapped about 250 others.

The Israeli campaign in Gaza has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which says the majority are women and children and which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.