At least 100 Palestinians, including 35 children and several women and the elderly, have been killed in a fresh wave of Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip, marking the deadliest day since a US-brokered ceasefire began. The Gaza Civil Defense said more than 200 people were injured in the attacks, with many still missing under the rubble of destroyed infrastructure.
According to local sources, the strikes hit several densely populated areas in Gaza City and surrounding neighborhoods, causing widespread destruction of residential buildings and civilian structures. Scenes from hospitals showed overwhelmed medical teams struggling to treat the wounded, while aid agencies warned of the threat of a new wave of civilian casualties and a worsening of an already dire humanitarian situation.
The attack came just hours after US President Donald Trump said that “nothing will jeopardize” the truce that Washington helped broker between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. However, the events of the night indicate the deepening instability of the agreement that has been on the verge of collapse for days.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after what Israeli media reported as “heavy armed clashes” between Palestinian fighters and Israeli troops near the Gaza border. The incident came as Israeli authorities expressed strong disapproval of Hamas’ decision to hand over only parts of the remains of one of the Israeli hostages whose body was found by soldiers two years ago.
Following the attack, Netanyahu called an emergency meeting with security officials to discuss what he described as “serious ceasefire violations” by Hamas. At the same time, pressure is growing within the Israeli government from far-right ministers demanding a return to military operations and a “decisive response” to Palestinian actions.
Hamas has denied any responsibility for the conflict that preceded the Israeli attacks, accusing Tel Aviv of using the incident as a pretext to renew its military campaign. In response to the bombing, the movement postponed the planned handover of the body of another Israeli hostage, which had been scheduled for Tuesday night, further escalating tensions and threatening to further undermine the fragile truce.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the US-backed ceasefire in Gaza was not in danger after Israel launched air strikes in the enclave in response to the killing of an Israeli soldier.
“My understanding is they killed an Israeli soldier. So the Israelis are fighting back and they should fight back. When that happens, they should fight back,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
“Nothing is going to jeopardize the ceasefire. You have to understand that Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East and they have to behave themselves,” Trump said.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the attacks, which followed a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office saying he had ordered immediate “strong strikes.”
An Israeli military official said Hamas violated the ceasefire by attacking Israeli forces stationed inside the so-called “yellow line,” a demarcation line agreed to in the truce. The U.S.-backed ceasefire agreement took effect on October 10, ending a two-year war that began on October 7, 2023.
Both sides have accused each other of violating the ceasefire.
“If they (Hamas) are good, they’ll be happy, and if they’re not good, they’ll be liquidated, their lives will be cut short,” Trump said.
“Nobody knows what happened to the Israeli soldier, but they say it was sniper fire. And it was retaliation for that, and I think they have the right to do that,” he added.
Hamas denied responsibility for the attack on Israeli forces in Rafah, in southern Gaza, and said in a statement that it remained committed to the ceasefire agreement.
