Israeli warplanes struck Gaza City on Tuesday (October 28), targeting an area near Shifa Hospital, the largest remaining functioning medical facility in northern Gaza, according to witnesses and Hamas media, Reuters reported.
There were no immediate reports of casualties. The Israeli military had no comment on the strikes, the report said.
The attack came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army to carry out “strong attacks” in response to what Hamas called a violation of a fragile ceasefire in place since October 10.
Israel accuses Hamas of violating the ceasefire
Netanyahu’s office gave no further details, although an Israeli military official accused Hamas of firing on Israeli forces in an area under Israeli control.
“This is another blatant violation of the ceasefire,” the official said.
The current US-backed ceasefire halted two years of war that began after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violations in recent days, including Israel’s claim of a “targeted attack” in central Gaza on Saturday.
The hostage standoff continues
Netanyahu previously accused Hamas of violating the agreement by returning the wrong remains during the process of handing over the hostages’ bodies. Israel said the remains delivered belonged to Ofir Tzarfati, whose body had already been partially recovered by Israeli forces.
In response, Hamas announced it would delay the planned handover of the remains of another hostage, saying Israel was in violation of the agreement.
Hamas said it continued to abide by the terms and accused Netanyahu of “looking for excuses” to back away from Israel’s commitments.
Truce terms under pressure
As part of the deal, Hamas released all living hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, while Israel withdrew its troops and suspended major operations. Hamas also agreed to find and return the bodies of the deceased hostages, although the group said the process was difficult amid the widespread destruction.
Israel insists that Hamas has access to most of the remains.
Search efforts are expanding across Gaza
The search intensified this week, with Egyptian heavy equipment operating in Khan Younis and Nuseirat. Bulldozers were digging near the tunnel shafts as Hamas fighters secured the area and searched for remains believed to be buried in the militant group’s underground network of tunnels.
Reuters footage showed excavations several meters deep, including one entrance to a tunnel where fighters appeared to be searching for bodies.
The human toll of war
Gaza medics say 68,000 have been confirmed dead in Israeli airstrikes since the start of the war, with thousands more missing under the rubble. Israel launched the offensive after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 hostages back in Gaza in an attack in October 2023.
US President Donald Trump said Washington was closely monitoring the status of the ceasefire as tensions rose over efforts to recover the hostages.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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