The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reportedly launched airstrikes in southern Rafah on Sunday after “terrorist operatives” in the Gaza Strip launched an attack on Israeli forces in the area, local media said.
According to the Times of Israel, “terrorist operatives” in the Gaza Strip launched an attack on Israeli forces in Rafah, prompting the IDF to launch airstrikes in the area.
Meanwhile, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan said the air force was attacking Rafah in southern Gaza. Most media described the attack as airstrikes.
The Israel Defense Forces and Hamas have not officially commented on the reported attack.
The impact of Sunday’s Israeli strikes, the most serious test since an already fragile ceasefire took effect on October 11, was not immediately clear.
The terrorists opened fire on Israeli troops
The Israeli government and Hamas have been accusing each other of violating the ceasefire for several days.
The government media office in Gaza said on Saturday that Israel had committed 47 violations following the ceasefire agreement, leaving 38 dead and 143 wounded, Reuters reported.
However, the Israeli military said on Friday that “several terrorists” opened fire on soldiers in the Rafah area and caused no injuries.
The army later said it struck another group of “terrorists” approaching troops in Khan Younis on the same day.
“The army will continue the operation to eliminate the immediate threats,” it said.
Rafah has been largely closed since May 2024.
Israel and Hamas have been at loggerheads over the return of the bodies of the deceased hostages. Israel demanded that Hamas fulfill its obligations and release the remaining bodies of all 28 hostages.
Hamas returned all 20 hostages alive and 12 dead, but said the process required effort and special equipment to retrieve the corpses buried under the rubble.
Israel, Hamas ceasefire
The first phase of the ceasefire agreement calls for the release of the last 48 hostages held by Hamas, including about 20 believed to be alive; the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel; a surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza; and the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the main cities of Gaza.
It is a fragile moment with Israel and Hamas only in the early stages of implementing the first phase of the Trump deal, which is intended to bring a permanent end to the war triggered by the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants.
The U.S.-brokered truce includes ramping up aid to the enclave, where hundreds of thousands of people were designated as famine-stricken in August, according to the IPC global famine monitor.
Impressive obstacles to Trump’s plan to end the war still remain. The key issues of disarming Hamas, governing Gaza, assembling an international “stabilization force” and moving towards the creation of a Palestinian state have yet to be resolved.
