Gaza Ceasefire Examined As Israel And Hamas Trade Fireplace And Blame

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military launched a barrage of assaults in Gaza on Tuesday as tensions with Hamas grew two weeks right into a fragile ceasefire, and the militant group responded by saying it will delay handing over the physique of a hostage. Not less than seven Palestinians had been killed, well being officers mentioned.

The flare-up of violence offered one of many greatest exams up to now for the truce and had worldwide mediators scrambling to forestall it from collapsing. U.S. Vice President JD Vance tried to minimize the combating, saying he anticipated “skirmishes” to shortly die down.

The order from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch “powerful strikes” got here after an Israeli official mentioned its forces had been fired upon in southern Gaza and after Hamas handed over physique elements on Monday that Israel mentioned had been the partial stays of a hostage recovered earlier within the warfare.

Netanyahu referred to as the return of those physique elements a “clear violation” of the ceasefire settlement, which requires Hamas to return the remaining hostages in Gaza as quickly as doable. Israeli officers additionally accused Hamas of staging the invention of those stays on Monday, sharing a 14-minute edited video captured by a army drone in Gaza.

Israel notified america earlier than launching the strikes on Tuesday, based on two U.S. officers who spoke on situation of anonymity to debate delicate issues.

In Gaza Metropolis, at the least two Palestinians had been killed by strikes, based on Rami Mhanna, the managing director of Shifa hospital, the place the our bodies had been taken. In Khan Younis, an Israeli strike on a car killed 5 Palestinians, together with two youngsters, based on Ahmed al-Farra, the top of pediatrics at Nasser hospital, the place the our bodies had been taken.

Earlier within the day, Israeli troops had been shot at within the southern metropolis of Rafah and returned fireplace, based on an Israeli army official who spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of there hasn’t been an official announcement but.

In a press release, Hamas denied involvement within the gunfire in Rafah and reiterated its dedication to the ceasefire. “The violent strikes carried out by Israel across the Strip is a blatant violation of the ceasefire deal,” mentioned the group, calling on mediators to strain Israel to cease.

The U.S. vice chairman expressed confidence that the ceasefire would maintain. “That doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be little skirmishes here and there,” Vance instructed reporters on Capitol Hill.

The ceasefire that started on Oct. 10 has largely held regardless of at the least two earlier flare-ups in violence.

On Oct. 19, Israel mentioned two Israeli troopers had been killed by Hamas fireplace. Israel responded with a sequence of strikes that killed over 40 Palestinians, based on native well being officers. And over the weekend, Israel carried out an airstrike towards what it mentioned had been Islamic Jihad militants planning an assault, wounding a number of folks.

There are nonetheless 13 our bodies of hostages in Gaza. Hamas mentioned Tuesday it had recovered the physique of a hostage, however after Israel introduced the plans to strike Gaza, Hamas mentioned in a press release it will delay the handover.

An AP videographer in Khan Younis witnessed Tuesday what gave the impression to be a white physique bag being carried out from a tunnel by a number of males, together with some masked militants, after which transported into an ambulance. It was not instantly clear what was within the bag.

The sluggish return of hostages’ our bodies is posing a problem to implementing the subsequent phases of the ceasefire, which can deal with even knottier points, such because the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of a world safety pressure in Gaza and deciding who will govern the territory.

Hamas has mentioned it’s struggling to find the our bodies amid the huge destruction in Gaza, whereas Israel has accused the militant group of purposely delaying their return.

Over the weekend, Egypt deployed a staff of specialists and heavy tools to assist seek for the our bodies of the remaining hostages.

An Arab official concerned in negotiating the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas mentioned talks had been underway with either side to attempt to forestall the truce from collapsing. “Both sides violated the agreement, but there was no significant breach,” mentioned the official, who spoke on situation of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The official mentioned violations included delays in handing over our bodies, the restricted scaleup of help supply, and “minor skirmishes” on the road that separates Israeli troops from the remainder of Gaza.

The stays returned to Israel in a single day had been recognized as belonging to Ofir Tzarfati.

Tzarfati was kidnapped throughout the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on Israel that began the warfare. The militants killed some 1,200 folks that day and took 251 hostages.

Tzarfati was killed in captivity and his physique was retrieved by Israeli troops in November 2023. In March 2024, his household acquired further stays for burial. That is the third time “we have been forced to open Ofir’s grave and rebury our son,” the household mentioned in a press release.

The AP analyzed the video Israel launched accusing Hamas of staging the invention of Tzarfati’s stays on Monday.

The video reveals a white physique bag being thrown out of a broken constructing right into a dug out space. Three masked males are seen burying the physique bag earlier than heavy equipment strikes it to a close-by space the place it’s buried for a second time. The lads then dig it out earlier than pictures are taken of the physique bag. Folks carrying pink vests may very well be seen observing.

AP geolocated the footage and confirmed its location. The AP couldn’t, nevertheless, affirm the precise date or time it was filmed or if stays had been actually contained in the physique bag.

“This footage clearly shows that the Hamas terrorist organization 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 Israeli military mentioned in a press release.

Israeli authorities spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian referred to as the scene a “disgraceful deception” and mentioned the physique bag contained the partial stays of Tzarfati.

Hamas didn’t reply to AP’s request for remark however in a press release accused Israel of obstructing their efforts to seek for extra hostage stays.

The Worldwide Committee of the Crimson Cross confirmed in a press release {that a} staff was current “in good faith” and was unaware of the circumstances resulting in the invention of the stays.

“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,” mentioned Sarah Davies, a spokesperson for the ICRC.

That is the second time because the ceasefire that continues to be turned over by Hamas have been problematic. Israel mentioned one of many our bodies Hamas launched within the first week of the ceasefire belonged to an unidentified Palestinian.

Over 68,500 Palestinians have died within the two-year warfare in Gaza, based on Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its rely. The ministry maintains detailed casualty information which can be seen as usually dependable by U.N. companies and impartial specialists. Israel has disputed them with out offering its personal toll.

Brito reported from Jerusalem. Related Press writers Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, Samy Magdy in Cairo, Sam Mednick in Rome, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, Beatrice Dupuy in New York, and Kevin Freking and Matthew Lee in Washington, contributed to this report.