Jerusalem – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the military to launch “immediate, powerful” airstrikes across Gaza, plunging the U.S.-brokered ceasefire—barely three weeks old—into jeopardy amid accusations of Hamas violations. The order, announced Tuesday evening after urgent security consultations, marks a sharp escalation in the two-year conflict that has claimed over 68,500 Palestinian lives and left the enclave in ruins.
Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of breaching the October 10 truce by firing on Israeli troops in Rafah, killing one soldier, and failing to return the remains of hostages as agreed. “Following security consultations, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the military echelon to carry out powerful strikes in the Gaza Strip immediately,” the statement read, emphasizing retaliation for “imminent terror threats.” Explosions lit up Gaza City’s skyline and echoed through Deir al-Balah, with the enclave’s health ministry reporting at least 104 deaths overnight—the deadliest toll since the ceasefire’s ink dried. Among the casualties: dozens of children in a tent camp strike, per local rescuers, as families fled rubble-strewn streets.
Hamas vehemently denied involvement in the Rafah incident, calling the strikes a “flagrant violation” and postponing a scheduled handover of a hostage’s body. “Israel seeks to sabotage the deal,” a spokesman charged, urging mediators to intervene. The group claimed it recovered remains from tunnels but accused Israel of bad faith by staging discoveries to justify aggression.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance downplayed the rupture, insisting to reporters: “The ceasefire is holding—little skirmishes happen.” Yet Netanyahu briefed President Trump beforehand, sources said, highlighting Washington’s delicate balancing act. Trump, architect of the fragile pact via son-in-law Jared Kushner, has pressed restraint but faces domestic pressure to back Israel’s iron fist. Turkey’s foreign ministry condemned the raids as a “clear breach,” while the UN warned of humanitarian catastrophe, with aid convoys stalled amid renewed bombardments.
As dawn broke over Gaza’s scarred horizon, Netanyahu’s gamble tests the truce’s sinews: Retribution or unraveling? With 13 hostage bodies still unaccounted for and famine stalking the strip, the strikes underscore a grim truth—peace in the Holy Land hangs by threads as thin as ceasefire clauses.
