Israel has launched an attack in Gaza after claiming Hamas violated the Donald Trump-brokered peace deal.
The Israeli military said Hamas terrorists carried out ‘multiple attacks’ beyond the ‘yellow line’ buffer zone, including a rocket-propelled grenade and sniper fire, calling it a ‘blatant violation’ of the ceasefire.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
Israeli airstrikes have hit Rafah in southern Gaza while strikes have been reported elsewhere in southern Gaza and in the city of Jabalia in the north of the territory.
The strikes were in response to ‘terror operatives in the Gaza Strip launching an attack on Israeli forces in Rafah,’ The Times of Israel reported.
The Israeli military said on Friday that ‘several terrorists’ had opened fire on soldiers in the Rafah area, causing no injuries.
The IDF later said it struck another group of ‘terrorists’ that were approaching troops in Khan Younis on the same day.
The military would continue to operate to remove immediate threats, it added.
Israel has launched an attack in Gaza after claiming Hamas violated the Donald Trump-brokered peace deal. (Hamas gunmen pictured on October 15)
The Israeli army began its withdrawal from Gaza last week but it still controls around half of the Strip, having withdrawn, under Phase 1 of the Trump plan, to an agreed ‘Yellow Line’.
It comes after the US warned that Hamas is planning an ‘imminent’ attack on civilians in Gaza in a ‘direct and grave’ breach of the ceasefire deal.
It said it had informed fellow mediating countries Qatar, Turkey and Egypt of a ‘credible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the people of Gaza.’
‘This planned attack against Palestinian civilians would constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement and undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts,’ the US State Department said.
The US did not provide further details of the attack or how it would constitute a breach of the ceasefire.
Hamas denied planning an attack and accused Israel of supporting rival militias in Gaza.
Hamas, who will have no role in governing Gaza under the US plan, have already recalled 7,000 members of its security forces following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave last week.
The fragile ceasefire agreement has been under increasing pressure after Hamas failed to release the bodies of all 28 dead hostages on Monday.
Only 12 have so far been released and Hamas claims it needs specialist excavation kit to find the remaining bodies.
Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners in its jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza as part of the deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently maintained that the war cannot end until Hamas gives up its weapons and ceases to control Gaza, a demand that the fighters have rejected, torpedoing all previous peace efforts.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
