JERUSALEM (AP) — A fragile ceasefire in Gaza faced its first major test Sunday when an Israeli security official said aid transfers to the Strip were halted after Hamas gunmen killed two soldiers, and Israeli forces launched a wave of deadly strikes.
The army later said it had resumed implementing the ceasefire, and the official confirmed that aid deliveries would resume on Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case with the media.
It has been just over a week since the start of a US-proposed ceasefire aimed at ending the two-year-old war. There was no immediate US comment.
Health officials said at least 36 Palestinians were killed across Gaza, including children. The Israeli army said it bombed dozens of Hamas targets after its forces came under fire from Hamas in southern Gaza.
A senior Egyptian official involved in the ceasefire negotiations said that contacts are taking place around the clock to calm the situation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army to take “strong measures” against any ceasefire violations but did not threaten to return to war.
The Israeli army said that gunmen opened fire on the forces in areas of the city of Rafah under Israeli control, according to the agreed-upon ceasefire lines.
Hamas, which continued to accuse Israel of committing multiple ceasefire violations, said that communications with its remaining units in Rafah had been cut off for months and “we are not responsible for any incidents that occur in those areas.”
Strikes in Gaza
Palestinians fear the return of war to the famine-stricken Strip, as Israel cut aid for more than two months earlier this year after ending the previous ceasefire.
“It will be a nightmare,” said Mahmoud Hashem, a father of five from Gaza City, and appealed to US President Donald Trump and other mediators to prevent the collapse of the ceasefire.
Al Awda Hospital said that it received 24 bodies as a result of several Israeli raids on the Nuseirat and Bureij camps in the central Gaza Strip.
An air strike on a makeshift café in the central Gaza town of Zawaida killed at least six Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, part of the Hamas-run government.
Another raid hit a tent in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the south, killing at least four people, including a woman and two children, according to Nasser Hospital.
An air strike in Beit Lahia in the north killed two men, according to Al-Shifa Hospital.
More hostage bodies were identified
Israel identified the remains of the two hostages released by Hamas overnight.
Netanyahu’s office said the bodies were those of Ronen Engel, a father from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Sonthaya Okharasri, a Thai agricultural worker from Kibbutz Be’eri.
Both are believed to have been killed during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war. Engel’s wife, Karina, and two of his three children were kidnapped and released in a November 2023 ceasefire.
Last week, Hamas handed over the remains of 12 hostages.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, said it had found the hostage’s body and would return it on Sunday “if field conditions permit.” It warned that any escalation by Israel would hinder search efforts.
Israel on Saturday urged Hamas to fulfill its role in the ceasefire of returning the remains of all 28 deceased hostages, saying the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed “until further notice.” This was the only crossing that was not controlled by Israel before the war.
Hamas says the destruction caused by the war and the Israeli army’s control of certain areas in Gaza slowed the handover process. Israel believes that Hamas has access to more bodies than it returned.
Israel released 150 bodies of Palestinians to Gaza, including 15 on Sunday, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Israel did not identify the bodies or say how they died. The ministry publishes photos of the bodies on its website to help families trying to locate their loved ones. Some are decayed and black. Some lose their limbs and teeth.
The Ministry of Health said that only 25 bodies had been identified.
Israel and Hamas had previously exchanged 20 living hostages in exchange for more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
The second phase of the ceasefire
Hamas said in a statement that a Hamas delegation headed by chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya arrived in Cairo to follow up on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement with the mediators and other Palestinian factions.
The next phases are expected to focus on the disarmament of Hamas, Israeli withdrawal from additional areas it controls in Gaza, and the future governance of the devastated territories. The American plan proposes establishing an internationally supported authority.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said late Saturday that the movement had begun discussions to “strengthen its positions.” He reiterated that Hamas would not be part of the ruling authority in Gaza after the war, and called for the immediate establishment of a body of Palestinian technocrats to manage day-to-day affairs.
He added, “Government agencies in Gaza are continuing to perform their duties at the present time, because the (power) vacuum is very dangerous.”
The war between Israel and Hamas led to the death of more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its statistics. The Ministry maintains detailed records of victims that UN agencies and independent experts generally consider reliable. Israel objected to it without providing its own tally.
Thousands more are missing, according to the Red Cross.
Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and kidnapped 251 people in the attack that sparked the war.
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Magdy reported from Cairo.
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