Israel Announces Resumption of Ceasefire in Gaza After Deadly Strikes
Israel has announced the resumption of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after conducting airstrikes that resulted in over a hundred casualties, according to civil defense and hospital sources, in retaliation for a deadly attack on one of its soldiers.
On Wednesday morning, plumes of black smoke rose from several locations in the Palestinian territory following these strikes, which rekindled fear among residents of a return to war.
"The bombings did not stop; there were explosions all night," testified Khadija al-Housni, a 31-year-old woman living in a tent in the al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza.
"We were just beginning to breathe again, trying to rebuild our lives when the bombings resumed, bringing back war, explosions, and death," she said.
"We are exhausted," reacted Jalal Abbas, 40, who is staying in a tent in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. "The return of war is what we feared the most," he commented.
Images from AFP showed injured individuals being treated at Al-Adwa hospital in Nuseirat in central Gaza, including a man carrying a bloodied child in his arms.
"At least 101 dead have been transported to hospitals, including 35 children, several women, and elderly individuals, following Israeli airstrikes within less than 12 hours," stated Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for the civil defense organization operating under Hamas, also reporting over 200 injuries.
Sources in five hospitals that received the victims confirmed this toll.
- "Dozens of Targets" -
The Israeli army announced on Wednesday morning a return to the ceasefire after conducting strikes against "dozens" of targets and aimed at 30 leaders of armed factions operating in the territory.
U.S. President Donald Trump had assured before the announcement of the cessation of strikes that "nothing" would jeopardize the ceasefire agreement, in place since October 10, which he negotiated between Israel and Hamas.
"They killed an Israeli soldier. So the Israelis are responding. And they should respond," he opined.
On Tuesday evening, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that Hamas had attacked Israeli soldiers and would "pay dearly" for it.
The Israeli army later confirmed that a soldier, Yona Efraim Feldbaum, 37, was killed on Tuesday in the Gaza Strip.
According to a military source, the incidents occurred in the Rafah area (south) where the army is operating to dismantle the infrastructure and tunnels of the movement that remain east of the "yellow line."
This line marks the area beyond which the Israeli army has withdrawn as part of the ceasefire, claiming to currently control about half of the Palestinian territory.
The source mentioned "enemy" fire against a building and against an engineering vehicle that led to the death of a soldier, as well as "several" anti-tank missile shots on another armored vehicle.
This new episode of violence is the second after the strikes on October 19, carried out, according to Israel, after an attack on its soldiers.
Hamas, which took power by force in Gaza in 2007, denied on Tuesday having attacked Israeli troops and reaffirmed its "commitment" to the ceasefire.
- "Complex and Difficult" -
The Palestinian movement also announced the postponement of the handover, initially scheduled for Tuesday evening, of a new hostage body.
Under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, Hamas released all 20 living hostages it had held in Gaza since its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, by October 13. It was also supposed to return the last 28 bodies on that date but has only handed over 15 so far.
The movement claims that locating them is "complex and difficult" in the devastated territory.
On Tuesday, it stated that it had found two hostage bodies, without specifying when it planned to return them.
On the same day, the Israeli government also accused Hamas of staging the supposed discovery of a hostage body, disseminating images to support its claims. AFP was unable to verify the date or location of the footage.
The Families Forum called on the government to "act decisively" against Hamas for its "violations" of the agreement.
The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to a toll established by AFP based on official figures.
The Israeli offensive launched in retaliation has resulted in 68,531 deaths in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas health ministry.
AFP