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Israel launches fresh assault on Gaza, citing ceasefire violations
Israeli airstrikes hit Rafah in southern Gaza, Israeli and regional media report, as clashes flared between Israeli forces and Hamas despite a fragile US-brokered ceasefire.
Israel’s public broadcaster Kan said the air force was striking targets in Rafah, while other outlets reported attacks elsewhere in southern Gaza and in the city of Jabalia in the north of the territory. Israeli TV network Channel 12 said prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone call with defence minister Israel Katz and senior army officials as the situation unfolded.
According to The Times of Israel, “terror operatives in the Gaza Strip launched an attack on Israeli forces in Rafah,” prompting the strikes. An Israeli military official told Reuters Hamas had carried out multiple attacks against Israeli forces beyond the so-called “yellow line”, in violation of the ceasefire agreement.
Neither Hamas nor the IDF have commented on the attacks.
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Israel launches military attack on Gaza amid escalating tensions – reports
Israel has launched an attack on Gaza, according to Israeli media, amid escalating tensions and mutual accusations with Hamas over breaches of the US-brokered ceasefire aimed at ending the war in the territory.
There was no immediate comment from the military on the reported attack.
Netanyahu says Rafah crossing to stay closed until Hamas returns bodies of hostages as ceasefire tensions rise
The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said, adding its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over the bodies of deceased hostages as the two sides continued to trade blame over ceasefire violations.
Hamas, in a statement late on Saturday, said Netanyahu’s decision to keep the crossing closed “constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement and a repudiation of the commitments he made to the mediators and guarantor parties.”
As of Saturday evening, Hamas had handed back 12 of 28 deceased captives, saying it would need specialist recovery equipment to retrieve the rest from the ruins of Gaza.
In key developments:
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Israel identified the body of a deceased hostage today, after Hamas handed over two bodies of what the militant group said are deceased hostages to the Red Cross late Saturday night.
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Late on Saturday, the US state department said it had received “credible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the people of Gaza.”
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Hamas has rejected the accusations, calling them “false” and blaming Israel for sponsoring “criminal gangs” responsible for killings, kidnappings and looting in Gaza. The group said its police forces were pursuing those responsible and urged Washington “to stop echoing the occupation’s misleading narrative”.
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Gaza’s media office has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire with Hamas 47 times since the truce came into effect in early October.
