Netanyahu orders powerful strikes following alleged Hamas violations

The Israeli military has attacked multiple locations in Gaza City following an order from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for intense strikes on the conflict-torn Gaza Strip, alleging that Hamas broke the ceasefire mediated by the United States.

“After security consultations, Prime Minister Netanyahu directed the military to promptly execute powerful strikes in the Gaza Strip,” stated a release from his office.

Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud noted that a missile landed behind the al-Shifa Hospital and there was “significant air activity over Gaza with drones hovering above.”

“Eyewitnesses described the strike as extensive. We are around 20 minutes away from the location, yet we could hear it from here,” he reported. “The attack stirred chaos and fear among patients and medical staff within the hospital.”

Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, alleged on Tuesday that Hamas had targeted Israeli troops, promising that the group would “pay a heavy price” for the apparent assaults on soldiers and for “breaking the agreement regarding the return of hostages’ bodies.”

Earlier, Netanyahu accused Hamas of a “clear violation” of the Gaza ceasefire agreement by returning remains belonging to a previously recovered captive.

“Israel must understand that we are committed to the agreement, and they should cease falsely accusing us of breaking it,” said Suhail al-Hindi, a member of Hamas’s political bureau in Gaza. He informed Al Jazeera that the group encountered “huge challenges” while attempting to recover the bodies of Israeli captives.

“We have exerted every possible effort to retrieve the bodies, and the occupation is entirely responsible for any delay in recovering the remaining bodies,” he stated.

A US official told Al Jazeera that the ceasefire was still in effect. “The ceasefire agreement remains in place in Gaza, and we continue to strive to implement President Trump’s peace plan,” said the US official, who requested anonymity.

“Achieving permanent peace in Gaza is a challenging task following two years of conflict in the Strip,” the official added.

Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, and several key Arab and Muslim countries, which lent considerable diplomatic backing to the deal, have accused Israel of multiple violations of the agreement over the past nearly three weeks. Dozens have been killed in Gaza, and Israel is heavily restricting aid access to those in dire need.

Hamas’s military wing announced it will now delay the handover of the body of the Israeli captive they found earlier today “due to violations” by Israel.

In a statement, the Qassam Brigades emphasized that any Israeli escalation “will obstruct search, excavation, and retrieval operations of the bodies, leading to delays in recovering the bodies” of the deceased captives.

The latest developments have endangered an already fragile ceasefire agreement and ignited concerns of a return to conflict for Gaza’s bombarded and besieged population.

There were reports of gunfire in Rafah in southern Gaza near the border with Egypt later on Tuesday. It is believed that there was an exchange of gunfire between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters from the Gaza Strip.

Following that, artillery shelling began, and explosions were heard in Rafah and the eastern part of Khan Younis city. Reports also suggest that one Israeli soldier was wounded.

The recent remains handed over by Hamas earlier were not from the 13 deceased captives yet to be returned, according to Netanyahu. Instead, he pointed out that they were those of a captive whose body had been recovered by Israeli forces nearly two years ago.

The anonymous US official conveyed to Al Jazeera that finding the bodies of Israeli captives was “difficult, challenging, and time-consuming.” The Civil-Military Cooperation Centre, a US-led entity established to aid reconstruction and facilitate aid delivery, has played a crucial role in bringing Egyptian technical teams into Gaza to retrieve the bodies, said the official.

Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet has advocated for stern measures in response, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urging the re-arrest of Palestinians released in exchanges “in retaliation for Hamas’s repeated and persistent violations.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir expressed that the apt response was to “completely eradicate [Hamas].”

Other options include halting the already severely limited humanitarian aid flow to Gaza, increasing Israeli control of the enclave, or launching airstrikes targeting Hamas leaders, as reported by Israeli media.