The state of the truce in place in the Gaza Strip since last week is worsening by the minute. The Israeli Air Force carried out airstrikes against various points in the enclave this Sunday, and then the Israeli government ordered the resumption of the blockade on the Strip, preventing the entry of food and other basic necessities"until further notice." All of this, according to Benjamin Netanyahu's government, is in response to what Israeli troops describe as a"flagrant" violation of the truce by Palestinian fighters, who, according to the army, opened fire with"anti-tank missiles" at soldiers in the southern area of Rafah, which the ceasefire grants to Israeli control.
The attack killed two Israeli soldiers, the first to die since the ceasefire began. In a rapid succession of attacks, the Israeli army bombed the southern municipality, but also Jabalia, in the north of the enclave, and Deir el-Balad, in the center. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reports that Israeli shrapnel killed at least 14 people this Sunday.
The Israeli prime minister issued an initial statement stating that he has ordered a"robust response" against "terrorist targets." In a subsequent announcement, which made no mention of a truce, Netanyahu warned that Hamas remains"the greatest threat" to Israelis and anticipates that Israel will act "forcefully" to "thwart" its control over the Gaza Strip.
Both statements came after a meeting between the Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister Israel Katz and some army leaders to assess the situation and decide how to respond, according to Israeli television Channel 12.
The ceasefire agreement that came into effect last week obliges Israel to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave. Now, Israel's decision to block the delivery of aid jeopardizes the survival of the ceasefire, but also that of thousands of malnourished Gazans in a territory where the UN declared famine in August.
Axios reports that the White House is intervening in an attempt to save the truce, which is widely perceived internationally as a US project. According to the same report, Israel notified the Trump administration that it would carry out the bombings. “No one wants a return to open warfare,” a US official told Axios. “The Israelis want to show Hamas that there are consequences, without ruining the peace agreement.”
Qatari television's Al Jazeera reported that explosives had been detonated in Rafah, killing two Israeli soldiers. The Israeli military responded with at least three separate attacks, according to Saudi Arabia's Al Arabiya. At the same time, the Israeli military also launched an attack in Jabalia, where the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported two deaths, without specifying whether they were civilians or militants, and several injuries. Another attack on a cafe in Deir el-Balah left six dead, according to civil defense teams. The Saudi media outlet Al Hadath said one of them was a commander in Hamas's armed wing.
These events represent an escalation of the war in the midst of the ceasefire. Since the beginning of the truce on October 11th until last Saturday, Israel had killed around thirty Gazans in incidents mainly related to the approach to the yellow line—for now, imaginary, although Israel has announced it will erect fences—which defines the territory of the Gaza Strip to which Israeli troops withdrew following the peace agreement signed in Egypt.
Israel's far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, has demanded that the Israeli army resume"full-scale fighting" in Gaza."The false belief that Hamas will comply with the ceasefire agreement is dangerous to our security," he said in a statement.
Hamas has stepped forward, asserting its commitment to the truce. In a statement, the militia claims it has"no record" of the incidents in Rafah to which Israel refers, arguing that it has lost contact with its units in the area since Israel took control months ago. On Saturday, Hamas put the number of alleged Israeli ceasefire violations at 47.
Stuck in the first phase
The truth is that both sides accuse the other of violating the truce. Israeli authorities are spreading the idea that Hamas is holding hostages' bodies, which it could immediately return to Israel, something the Palestinian movement denies, arguing that the devastation in the enclave makes it difficult to search for remains.
On Sunday, Hamas announced it had found the body of another hostage, but suggested that a resumption of the conflict could jeopardize his return and the search for the rest. Hours earlier, Israel confirmed the identities of two more hostages—Israeli Ronen Engel and Thai Sonthaya Oakkharasri—whose bodies Hamas returned on Saturday night. The militia has yet to hand over 16 of the 28 hostages killed since October 2023.
In a complete about-face, the White House issued a statement Saturday night denouncing the existence of"credible information" indicating "an imminent violation of the ceasefire agreement by Hamas against the people of Gaza." The statement refers to the repression Hamas has carried out since the beginning of the truce against other armed clans in the Strip, which it accuses of collaborating with Israel, which has included the execution or murder of at least 30 people, according to the Israeli media outlet The Jerusalem Post.
The statement warns that"if Hamas proceeds with this attack," the United States will take measures "to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire." On Tuesday, in a contrasting statement, US President Donald Trump stated that he was not overly concerned about the"executions of some members" of the gangs.
Hamas rejected the US accusations on Sunday, asserting that"what Washington describes as civilians" are in fact "Israeli-funded militias" tasked with spreading chaos in the enclave.
Before Sunday's outbreak, the White House had already planned to send a delegation led by Vice President J.D. Vance to Israel early next week to bolster the implementation of the truce and move it toward its second phase. Washington's special envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, and Trump's advisor and son-in-law, Jared Kuhsner, will be part of the delegation and could arrive in Israel on Monday.
