JERUSALEM, Oct 28 – Israel has launched fresh strikes on Gaza, after PM Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his military to immediately carry out “powerful” attacks.
Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the ceasefire brokered by US President Trump and leaders from the Middle East.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has said Hamas “will pay a heavy price”, alleging the group has attacked IDF soldiers in Gaza and has violated the ceasefire agreement.
“The attack on IDF soldiers in Gaza today by the Hamas terrorist organization is crossing a bright red line to which the IDF will respond with great force.”
“Hamas will pay with compound interest for attacking the soldiers and violating the agreement to return the fallen hostages,” Katz says.
The renewed tensions came as Israel says a coffin handed over by Hamas on Monday did not contain the remains of a deceased hostage.
Hamas says Israel is obstructing efforts to search for bodies in the Strip, and says it is postponing a planned handover of another dead hostage
All but one of the dead hostages still in Gaza were among the 251 people abducted during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 other people were killed.
Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 68,500 people have been killed, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
