Israel says ceasefire, aid to continue after Gaza airstrikes kill 26

Israel’s military said Sunday that a cease-fire in Gaza was restored after an attack that killed two of its soldiers and triggered a wave of airstrikes that Palestinians said killed 26 people, in the most serious test of the truce this month.

US President Donald Trump has said the brokered ceasefire remains in place. The Hamas leadership, he said, may not be involved in the violations. “We think maybe the leadership is not involved in this,” he told reporters on Air Force One.

“Either way… it will be dealt with harshly but properly.

Trump said he did not know if the Israeli strikes were justified. “I would have to check with you about that,” he said.

Aid to Gaza was to resume on Monday following US pressure, an Israeli security source said, shortly after Israel announced a supply cut in response to what it said was a “flagrant” ceasefire violation by Hamas.

The Israeli military said it hit Hamas targets across the enclave, including field commanders, gunmen, a tunnel and weapons caches, after the militants fired an anti-tank missile and fired on its troops, killing the soldiers.

The strikes killed at least 26 people, including at least one woman and a child, according to local residents and health authorities. At least one strike hit a former school housing displaced people in Nuseirat district, residents said.

“We’ll have to see what happens. We want to make sure it’s very peaceful with Hamas,” Trump said.

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected to travel to Israel on Monday, an Israeli and US official said.

Hamas’s armed wing has said it remains committed to the ceasefire agreement, is unaware of the clashes in Rafah and has not been in contact with groups there since March.

Reading: Israel keeps Rafa crossing closed, ties reopen with bodies of hostages

US Vice President JD Vance did not mention the Israeli strikes when he spoke to reporters, but said there are about 40 different Hamas cells and no security infrastructure yet to confirm their disarmament.

“Some of these cells will probably honor the ceasefire. Many of these cells, as we saw some evidence today, will not,” he said.

“Before we can make sure that Hamas is properly disarmed, that’s going to require … some of these Gulf Arab states, to put forces there, to actually implement some law and order and security on the ground.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the army to respond forcefully to Hamas ceasefire violations.

The road to peace is uncertain

Fearing the truce may collapse, some Palestinians rushed to buy goods at a main market in Nuseirat, and families fled their homes in Khan Younis, further south, after airstrikes nearby.

The strikes were reminiscent of Israel’s response to serious violations of a ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hamas in late 2024, less than a week after it took effect and after days of mutual accusations of ceasefire violations, although the ceasefire has since been largely in place.

But formidable obstacles remain in the way of a lasting peace in Gaza, where a cease-fire collapsed in March after nearly two months of relative calm when Israel launched a barrage of airstrikes.

Dispute over bodies of dead hostages

The new truce took effect on October 10, ending two years of war, but the Israeli government and Hamas have been accusing each other of ceasefire violations for days.

Read more: Israel to reopen Rafah crossing as ceasefire violations continue

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the “yellow line” where Israeli forces had withdrawn under the ceasefire agreement would be marked of course and that any violation of the ceasefire or attempt to cross the line would be met with fire.

Hamas outlined what it said was a series of violations by Israel that it says left 46 people dead and stopped essential supplies from reaching the enclave.

On Saturday, Israel said the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which was expected to reopen this week, would remain closed and that its reopening would depend on Hamas fulfilling its obligations under the truce.

Israel says Hamas is taking too long to hand over bodies of dead hostages. Hamas last week released all 20 live hostages it was holding and in the following days handed over 12 of the 28 dead captives.

He needs more help

Hamas says it is not interested in keeping the bodies of the remaining hostages and that special equipment is needed to retrieve bodies buried under rubble.

The Rafah crossing has been largely closed since May 2024. The ceasefire agreement also includes increasing aid to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people were declared in August to be affected by hunger, according to the IPC world hunger monitor.

The crossing has functioned in previous ceasefires as a key conduit for the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave.

Read also: Aid trucks roll into starving Gaza

Although the flow of aid through another transit had increased significantly, until Sunday’s decision to freeze aid, since the ceasefire began, the United Nations says much more is needed.

The key issues of the disarmament of Hamas, the future governance of Gaza, the composition of an international “stabilization force” and moves towards the creation of a Palestinian state have not yet been resolved.