The ceasefire compelled Israel to end its months-long blockade of the enclave, but Israel said Sunday that it once again halted aid flows, potentially plunging Gaza once more into famine<\/a> even as aid groups were clamoring for additional supplies to be trucked in.<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s strikes constituted the strongest challenge yet to an uneasy truce<\/a> that came into place Oct. 10 after intense diplomacy \u2014 and no little pressure on the belligerents \u2014 from Trump and a raft of Arabic and Islamic nations to stop fighting and bring an end to a war that has killed tens of thousands and all but flattened much of Gaza.<\/p>\n War!<\/p>\n \u2014 Bezalel Smotrich, Israeli finance minister<\/p>\n Live broadcasts Sunday showed blooms of smoke rising across the Gaza Strip, as Israeli warplanes hit multiple areas in Rafah, Khan Yunis and Deir al Balah, killing at least 15 people, Palestinian health officials said. The Israeli military said one one soldier and one officer were killed. <\/p>\n In a statement, the Israeli military accused the militant group Hamas of firing an anti-tank missile at troops in southern Gaza, calling the attack \u201ca blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.\u201d The military added that it responded \u201cto eliminate the threat and dismantle tunnel shafts and military structures used for terrorist activity.\u201d<\/p>\n Later, reports of dozens of attacks by Hamas came in from local media. <\/p>\n A wounded Palestinian child is brought to Nasser Hospital after an Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on Oct. 19, 2025. <\/p>\n (Jehad Alshrafi \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n \u201cHamas will pay a heavy price for every shot and every breach of the ceasefire,\u201d Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. \u201cIf the message is not understood, our response will become increasingly severe.\u201d<\/p>\n The Israel Defense Forces said targets included \u201cweapons storage facilities, infrastructure used for terrorist activity, firing posts, terrorist cells, and additional terrorist infrastructure sites. The IDF also struck and dismantled [nearly 4 miles] of underground terrorist infrastructure, using over 120 munitions.\u201d<\/p>\n Flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes<\/p>\n \u2014 Izzat al-Risheq, senior Hamas official, on Israeli strikes <\/p>\n Hamas\u2019 military wing, the Qassam Brigades, denied any connection to the violence in Rafah, saying that it was \u201cunaware of any events or clashes taking place in the Rafah area\u201d and that it hadn\u2019t had contact with any of its fighters since March, when Israel broke an earlier ceasefire.<\/p>\n Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq insisted that it was Israel \u2014 and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu \u2014 that was continuing to violate the agreement and fabricating \u201cflimsy pretexts to justify its crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNetanyahu\u2019s attempts to evade and disavow his commitments come under pressure from his extremist terrorist coalition, in an attempt to evade his responsibilities to the mediators and guarantors,\u201d Al-Risheq wrote on his Telegram messaging app channel.<\/p>\n Hamas says Israel has violated the ceasefire 47 times, killing 38 Palestinians and injuring 143 since the truce began Oct. 10.<\/p>\n Israeli twins Gali and Ziv Berman, who were recently released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, are welcomed home as they return from the hospital to Beit Guvrin, Israel, on Oct. 19, 2025. <\/p>\n (Ariel Schalit \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n In the days since, Hamas has handed over 20 living hostages kidnapped in its operation on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war; in exchange, Israel released more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Hamas also returned the bodies of 12 other hostages who died in captivity, and said it was still searching for the remains of 16 others.<\/p>\n The Qassam Brigades said in a later statement Sunday that it had recovered another body and that it would deliver it to Israel that day \u201cif field conditions permit.\u201d It added that any escalation \u201cwill hinder the search, excavation, and recovery of the bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel still controls just over half of Gaza\u2019s territory. <\/p>\n The violence Sunday sparked calls from Israeli leaders across the political spectrum for a return to the fight against Hamas. A Netanyahu rival \u2014 Israeli politician Benny Gantz \u2014 said that \u201call options must be on the table.\u201d <\/p>\n Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultranationalist minister in Netanyahu\u2019s government who was against any truce with Hamas, said fighting should resume \u201cwith maximum force.\u201d His right-wing ally, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, tweeted a single word: \u201cWar!\u201d<\/p>\n Details on what had prompted the Israeli onslaught remained scant. The Israeli daily newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported the incident began at 10 a.m., when Hamas fighters emerged from a tunnel and fired an anti-tank missile at an engineering vehicle. That was followed by sniper fire at another vehicle.<\/p>\n But one Palestinian channel on Telegram seen as close to Hamas said the target was a Palestinian militia that had worked throughout the war with Israel. <\/p>\n The head of that militia, Yasser Abu Shabab, did not respond to questions sent to the militia\u2019s email address.<\/p>\n Relatives grieve as the bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire are brought to Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza, Oct. 19, 2025. <\/p>\n (Abdel Kareem Hana \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n The violence comes a day after the State Department said in a rare weekend statement that there were \u201ccredible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the people of Gaza.\u201d <\/p>\n The State Department warned that \u201cshould Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire.\u201d<\/p>\n In response, Hamas dismissed what it called \u201cU.S. allegations\u201d as \u201cfalse\u201d and said that they \u201cfully align with the misleading Israeli propaganda.\u201d It accused Israel of supporting \u201ccriminal gangs\u201d that it said were assaulting Palestinian civilians.<\/p>\n \u201cCriminal gangs\u201d was an apparent reference to militias competing with Hamas<\/a> for control of Gaza. Last week, video emerged of what was said to be Hamas operatives executing accused collaborators in Gaza.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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