After two weeks of relative peace, the Gaza ceasefire lies in tatters as furious Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu orders ‘powerful’ revenge strikes because Hamas failed to hand a hostage’s body over
The long-awaited Gaza ceasefire lies in tatters after the Israeli Prime Minister ordered his troops to launch “powerful strikes” on the Palestinian enclave. It followed the Israeli PM accusing Hamas of a “clear violation” of the peace accord – whilst Hamas hit back claiming Israel was guilty of 125 ceasefire violations.
Israel says a coffin handed over by Hamas on Monday did not contain the body of another deceased hostage it was expecting to be delivered. It appears the two week-long ceasefire has ended in an explosion of violence and large-scale strikes being ordered.
Gazan officials claim that since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10 Israel has killed 94 Palestinians within the Strip. In a statement on Tuesday, Hamas accused Israel of seeking to “fabricate false pretexts in preparation for taking new aggressive steps” in Gaza.
It said Israel is obstructing efforts to search for bodies in the Strip, and called on mediators to “allow the relevant bodies to carry out their humanitarian tasks away from political and aggressive calculations”. This evening, terrified Palestinians across the Strip are bracing for Israel to renew its attacks on Gaza.
Earlier on Tuesday there were reports of heavy gunfire and explosions in Rafah, southern Gaza. Israel accused Hamas of misidentifying the most recently returned captive’s remains, which were of an abductee whose body was recovered two years ago.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 68,527 people and wounded 170,395 since it began in October 2023. A total of 1,200 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks and about 200 taken captive.
The October 7 attacks triggered a number of other fronts for Israel to fight – including against Lebanese Hezbollah, Yemeni Houthis, pro-Iran Iraqi militia and Syrian groups. But it also sparked US-Israeli strikes earlier this year on Iran itself, targeting Tehran’s nuclear plants.
But much of Israel’s enemy forces, proxies of Iran, now lie in ruins – and it could be years before they are able to reform to their original strength. It also appears their sponsors in the Iranian regime have been hugely weakened by the years of warfare against Israel, and Hamas in Gaza has been decimated.
Netanyahu has been accused of carrying out provocation aimed at threatening the ceasefire agreement. Muhammad Shehada, an analyst with the Euopean Council on Foreign Relations based in Copenhagen, told Al Jazeera news service: “Netanyahu, from the very start of the ceasefire, has been trying to find any trick possible to resume the genocide in Gaza.
“We see this with Israel refusing to open up the Rafah border crossing, with restricting, until this moment, the amount of aid going in … continuing these bombardments here and there despite the ceasefire being in place under bogus and unsubstantiated claims.”
Both sides have accused the other of breaking the ceasefire agreement and it will now take enormous diplomatic interventions to repair the damage to the peace agreement. It is believed US President Donald Trump is paying close to attention to the extent of the Israeli military action against Gaza.