The airstrikes were revealed when plumes of smoke rose over Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza that is home to tens of thousands of people, and the Israel Defence Forces said it had attacked weapons storage facilities, firing posts and Hamas tunnels.
The ceasefire is under growing pressure after Hamas failed to transfer the bodies of 28 hostages it had agreed to release by last Monday, while Israel responded by halting aid deliveries despite promising to allow more food, water and medical help.
Wounded Palestinian infants are treated at Nasser Hospital in Gaza on Sunday after an Israeli army strike.Credit: AP
Aid groups have called for hundreds of daily truck deliveries to be allowed through the Rafah crossing to feed an estimated two million people in the territory, but the impasse over the ceasefire led Israel to close the crossing on Saturday.
Israeli officials announced the halt to all humanitarian aid on Sunday (Monday, AEDT).
Netanyahu stepped up his threats to use military force against Hamas, with his office blaming the group for violating the ceasefire.
“Hamas continues to show that their barbaric and irresponsible actions are the biggest threat to the Israeli and Palestinian people,” the prime minister’s office said on Sunday (Monday AEDT).
A man shoots in the air during the funeral of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on Sunday.Credit: AP
“We will respond forcefully against their brutal rule and thwart their weakening grip on Gaza.”
Netanyahu is insisting that Hamas put down its weapons under the terms of the peace plan, which sets out long-term goals for a transitional authority to manage Gaza and also stipulates that Hamas leaders would gain safe passage to leave to third countries.
Hamas has not agreed to demilitarise and has instead executed rivals inside the territory over the past week, asserting its control by force. Hamas is designated a terrorist group by Australia and other countries.
One of Israel’s most hawkish leaders in the war in Gaza, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, called for fighting to be resumed at “full strength” in the territory, potentially widening the breach in the ceasefire.
Israel said it would suspend the delivery of all humanitarian aid into Gaza until further notice.Credit: AP
The Australian government imposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir in June on the grounds that he incited supported systemic violence against Palestinians.
The armed wing of Hamas said in a statement, reported by Reuters, that it remained committed to the ceasefire agreement in all of Gaza. It also said it was unaware of clashes in Rafah and that it had not been in contact with groups there since March.
The BBC, citing local sources, reported that an Israeli airstrike on the town of al-Zawaida in central Gaza had killed six members of the Hamas al-Qassam Brigades, including Yahya al-Mabhouh, the commander of an elite unit.
With Reuters, AP
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