'Powerful strikes': Israel hits Gaza amid fragile ceasefire; over 30 killed

At least 30 people have been killed and dozens wounded in fresh Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, Gaza’s civil defence agency told AFP on Wednesday, in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as “powerful strikes” against Hamas. The assault came despite an ongoing ceasefire brokered by the United States earlier this month.

Mahmud Basal, spokesman for Gaza’s civil defence, said emergency crews were “still working to recover the dead and wounded from under the rubble”. The agency reported at least three strikes across Gaza, including one near the Al-Shifa hospital and another that killed five people when their vehicle was hit.


The Israeli military said the operation was in response to Hamas attacking its troops in Rafah — a claim Hamas has denied. Defence Minister Israel Katz accused the group of crossing “a bright red line”, warning, “Hamas’s attack today on IDF soldiers in Gaza will be met with great force.”

US Vice President JD Vance, however, maintained that the ceasefire “is holding” despite what he called “little skirmishes”. Speaking to reporters, Vance added, “We know that Hamas or somebody else within Gaza attacked an IDF soldier. We expect the Israelis are going to respond, but I think the president’s peace is going to hold.”

Ceasefire strains amid hostage dispute

The renewed violence comes amid deepening mistrust over the return of hostage remains, a key component of the ceasefire agreement. Israel accused Hamas of staging a fake recovery operation after the group handed over partial remains of a captive whose body had already been returned two years ago.

“It is unacceptable that a fake recovery was staged when so many families are still awaiting news,” the Red Cross said in a rare statement, confirming it was misled during the handover.

Hamas insists it remains committed to the truce and is “determined to hand over the bodies of Israeli captives as soon as possible once they are located”. The group said Israeli bombardments were hampering recovery efforts in Gaza’s ruins.

The ceasefire, brokered by President Donald Trump’s administration on 10 October, has so far failed to stop intermittent violence. According to Gaza’s health ministry, at least 68,531 people have been killed since the war began in October 2023, when Hamas’s attack on Israel left 1,221 dead and over 250 taken hostage.

As the strikes continued, Gaza resident Abdul-Hayy al-Hajj Ahmed voiced fears of another full-scale conflict. “Now they accuse Hamas of stalling, and that is a pretext for renewed escalation and war,” he told AFP. “We want to rest. I believe the war will come back.”