Gaza’s civil defence agency reported on Wednesday that overnight Israeli air strikes killed at least 50 people across the Palestinian territory, following an attack that left one Israeli soldier dead.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal condemned the bombardment as “a clear and flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement”. However, US President Donald Trump, currently on a visit to Asia, maintained that “nothing” would endanger the truce he helped broker.
According to Gaza’s civil defence, which operates under Hamas authority, the dead included 22 children, as well as several women and elderly people, while about 200 others were injured. Bassal said the Israeli strikes hit tents for displaced families, residential homes, and areas near a hospital.
Israel launched the air raids on Tuesday after accusing Hamas of attacking its troops and violating the truce. A military official confirmed that Sergeant Yona Efraim Feldbaum, 37, was killed in Rafah when an engineering vehicle came under fire. Shortly afterwards, several anti-tank missiles targeted another armoured vehicle in the same area.
Hamas denied involvement in the Rafah incident and reaffirmed its commitment to the US-backed ceasefire. Trump defended Israel’s retaliation but insisted that the truce remained intact, saying aboard Air Force One, “They killed an Israeli soldier, so the Israelis hit back — and they should hit back.”
Escalations and Civilian Toll
Hospitals across Gaza reported mounting casualties. Al-Shifa Hospital said one strike hit its backyard, while Al-Awda Hospital confirmed receiving several bodies, including those of four children, after the bombing of the Nuseirat refugee camp.
“We had just started to breathe again, trying to rebuild our lives, when the bombardment came back,” said Khadija al-Husni, who lives in a tent at a school in Al-Shati refugee camp. “It’s a crime. Either there is a truce or a war — it can’t be both.”
In the south, Red Crescent vehicles and refrigerated trucks delivered the bodies of 45 Palestinians previously held by Israel to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. Under the Trump-brokered ceasefire deal, Israel is to return 15 Palestinian bodies for every deceased Israeli repatriated.
Disputes Over Hostage Remains
The fragile truce came under further strain as Hamas delayed handing over another hostage’s body, citing Israeli “escalation” that hindered recovery efforts. The group had previously returned partial remains of a captive, which Israel said was a breach of the agreement.
Israeli officials accused Hamas of staging the discovery of remains already recovered two years earlier. Government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian claimed Hamas “dug a hole, placed the partial remains inside, covered it up, and handed it over to the Red Cross.”
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government to “act decisively” against what it called repeated violations, insisting Hamas knows the locations of remaining hostages.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem rejected the accusation, saying Israeli bombardments had destroyed many sites. “The movement is determined to hand over the bodies of Israeli captives as soon as possible once they are located,” he told AFP.
Mounting Casualties Despite Ceasefire
Hamas has already released all 20 living hostages under the ceasefire deal. Its initial attack on 7 October 2023 killed 1,221 people in Israel, mostly civilians. In response, Israel’s military campaign has left at least 68,531 Palestinians dead, according to figures from Gaza’s health ministry, which the UN considers credible.
Despite the truce, the death toll continues to rise as rescue teams recover bodies from the ruins.
On the ground, Jalal Abbas, a 40-year-old Gaza resident, voiced despair: “The return of war is what we feared most. I expected the bombardment to resume because Israel always creates pretexts. Every day they threaten to bring the war back, using the bodies as an excuse.”