The fragile ceasefire in Gaza faced its most serious test on Sunday as Israeli airstrikes killed at least 45 people, according to Gaza's civil defence agency and hospitals. The Israeli military said it had struck dozens of Hamas targets across the strip, accusing the militant group of violating the nine-day-old truce.
Israel's military initially launched a wave of strikes, then later announced it had begun resuming enforcement of the ceasefire, signalling an end to the raids. The military said it acted after Hamas violated the agreement, including by withholding the bodies of hostages. Hamas claimed to have located the body of another Israeli hostage but warned that continued strikes would make handovers impossible.
Among the dead were six people killed in a strike on a group of civilians in Zuwaida, central Gaza, and six others, including children, in two separate strikes near Nuseirat. A woman and two children died when a drone hit a tent for displaced people near Khan Younis. Two people, including a journalist, were killed in western Zuwaida, and two more died in eastern Jabalia.
Hamas dismissed a US state department allegation that it was planning an imminent attack, calling it “false” and “aligned with misleading Israeli propaganda”. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) condemned Israel, accusing it of resuming “genocide” and calling on President Trump to stop US weapons supplies to Israel.
The Israeli military said two soldiers were killed in combat in southern Gaza on Sunday. The ceasefire, brokered by the Trump administration, now hangs in the balance as both sides trade accusations of violations.
