Can the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire survive Israel’s latest strikes on Hamas?

Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza on Tuesday and early Wednesday, raising fears that the fragile, US-brokered ceasefire in the territory could unravel.

The Israeli government said the attacks were in response to what it called repeated violations of the truce by Hamas, including assaults on its soldiers and the alleged manipulation of a hostage recovery.

Health authorities in Gaza reported at least 26 deaths from the overnight bombardment, with fatalities recorded in Gaza City, Khan Younis, and the Bureij refugee camp.

Among the dead were children and several women. Hospitals across the enclave described the toll as one of the highest since the ceasefire took effect on October 10.

Why Israel says it struck Gaza

The fresh violence came three weeks into a delicate truce that had largely quieted the fighting after two years of devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered what his office called “immediate, powerful strikes” following reports that Israeli troops had come under sniper and RPG fire near Rafah in southern Gaza.

Military officials, speaking to local and international media, said the confrontation occurred east of the so-called yellow line — the boundary separating Israeli-controlled territory from the rest of Gaza.

They said Israeli soldiers were fired upon while patrolling the area, prompting a swift retaliation. “This is yet another blatant violation of the ceasefire,” one Israeli official said.

Hamas denied responsibility for the shooting and described the airstrikes as “a blatant violation of the ceasefire deal.” The group said it remained committed to upholding the truce and urged mediators to intervene to halt Israeli operations across the enclave.

Eyewitnesses and Gaza health workers reported that Israeli fighter jets struck multiple locations through Tuesday night and early Wednesday.

In the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, several people were killed when a building was hit. In the central Gaza Strip, a strike on a house in the Bureij refugee camp left at least five people dead.

Another attack in Khan Younis destroyed a vehicle, killing five — including two children — according to medical staff at Nasser Hospital.

In Gaza City, two additional fatalities were confirmed by Rami Mhanna, managing director at Shifa Hospital, where victims of the strikes were brought for treatment and identification.

The Israeli military did not immediately issue a formal statement about the raids but confirmed that it had “responded proportionally” to incoming fire.

The strikes, it said, were focused on Hamas facilities and militant infrastructure.

How the current ceasefire has come under strain

The current ceasefire, brokered by the United States and supported by Egypt and Qatar, began on October 10, ending two years of near-continuous fighting.

It was designed to include several stages: the cessation of hostilities, the return of hostages and remains, and negotiations toward the possible demilitarisation of Gaza.

The truce had endured previous flare-ups. On October 19, two Israeli soldiers were killed by Hamas fire, leading Israel to respond with airstrikes that killed more than 40 Palestinians.

Just days earlier, an Israeli airstrike wounded several people in what Israel described as a “targeted operation” against Islamic Jihad operatives allegedly preparing an attack. Despite these incidents, the ceasefire largely held until the latest surge in hostilities.

How Israel has accused Hamas of staging a hostage discovery

On Monday, Israel accused Hamas of staging the discovery of the body of Ofir Tzarfati, one of the Israeli hostages abducted during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel.

That attack, which initiated the war, left around 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 taken captive.

The Israeli army released an edited 14-minute video purportedly showing Hamas members burying and re-exhuming a white body bag in Gaza before presenting it as a recovered hostage.

“This footage clearly shows that the Hamas terrorist organisation is attempting to create a false impression of efforts to locate the bodies, while in fact holding deceased hostages whose remains it refuses to release as required by the agreement,” the army said in a statement.

The location of the video but could not verify the time or whether remains were indeed inside the bag. In the footage, masked men are seen handling the bag while individuals wearing red vests observe. Heavy machinery later moves the bag to a nearby burial site.

Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian described the scene as “a disgraceful deception,” claiming the bag contained partial remains of Tzarfati.

The victim’s family confirmed that this was the third time they had been asked to rebury their son. “This is the third time we have been forced to open Ofir’s grave and rebury our son,” they said in a statement.

Hamas did not respond to media requests for comment on the footage but accused Israel of obstructing recovery operations. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which facilitated the handover, said its team was present “in good faith” and unaware of the circumstances surrounding the recovery.

“It is unacceptable that a fake recovery was staged, when so much depends on this agreement being upheld and when so many families are still anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones,” said Sarah Davies, spokesperson for the ICRC.

The dispute has further delayed the transfer of other remains. Hamas said on Tuesday it had retrieved another body from a tunnel in Khan Younis but postponed its handover after Israel resumed strikes.

“The violent strikes carried out by Israel across the Strip is a blatant violation of the ceasefire deal,” the group said in a statement, warning that continued attacks could “hinder search and excavation operations and the retrieval of bodies.”

There are still 13 hostages’ bodies unaccounted for in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. Hamas insists that the extensive destruction caused by the war has made it difficult to locate them, while Israel contends the group is intentionally delaying returns to gain leverage.

How Trump & Co. reacted to the recent violence

US President Donald Trump reiterated that the ceasefire remained intact despite the escalation. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to South Korea, Trump said, “As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier. So the Israelis hit back and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back.”

He added, “Nothing is going to jeopardise the ceasefire. You have to understand Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave.”

He later warned that Hamas risked annihilation if it continued to provoke Israel. “If they (Hamas) are good, they are going to be happy and if they are not good, they are going to be terminated, their lives will be terminated,” Trump said.

US Vice President JD Vance also sought to calm fears, suggesting that the fighting would not spiral into full-scale conflict again.

“That doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be little skirmishes here and there,” Vance told reporters in Washington, stating that minor clashes were expected but would not derail the truce.

Israeli officials confirmed that Jerusalem had informed Washington before conducting the strikes.

Trump’s administration has staked significant diplomatic capital on the ceasefire deal, touting it as a cornerstone of its West Asian strategy.

The truce was one of several regional initiatives promoted by Washington to stabilise relations between Israel and Arab states while curbing Iran’s influence.

How Egypt is working to hold the Gaza truce

In Cairo, Egyptian mediators have been working with both Israel and Hamas to salvage the truce. An Arab official involved in the process told reporters that “both sides violated the agreement, but there was no significant breach.”

He described the issues as “minor skirmishes” and logistical delays rather than deliberate attempts to break the accord.

Among the sticking points are the slow transfer of hostage remains, the limited scale-up of humanitarian aid, and continued sporadic fire across the demarcation line.

Egypt recently dispatched a team of engineers and heavy equipment to assist in the search for hostages’ bodies buried under collapsed structures across the Gaza Strip.

The ceasefire’s next stages are expected to focus on more complex issues — Hamas’s disarmament, the establishment of an international monitoring presence in Gaza, and decisions about who will govern the enclave in the long term.

The Gaza Health Ministry reported that the total number of Palestinians killed in the two-year war has surpassed 68,500.

The ministry’s figures, which include both civilians and combatants, are widely regarded as credible by United Nations agencies and independent observers.

Israel disputes the numbers but has not released alternative estimates.

With inputs from agencies