JERUSALEM — Israel launched airstrikes Sunday in Gaza after what it mentioned was a Hamas assault on its forces, including to the two-year-old battle’s demise toll and rattling a fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire that had introduced a measure of reduction to the beleaguered enclave.
The day descended into finger-pointing as either side accused the opposite of violating the pact that President Trump, simply six days earlier, had mentioned would usher in “a golden age” of peace for the Center East.
The ceasefire compelled Israel to finish its months-long blockade of the enclave, however Israel mentioned Sunday that it as soon as once more halted assist flows, doubtlessly plunging Gaza as soon as extra into famine at the same time as assist teams had been clamoring for extra provides to be trucked in.
Sunday’s strikes constituted the strongest problem but to an uneasy truce that got here into place Oct. 10 after intense diplomacy — and no little stress on the belligerents — from Trump and a raft of Arabic and Islamic nations to cease combating and convey an finish to a battle that has killed tens of 1000’s and all however flattened a lot of Gaza.
Conflict!
— Bezalel Smotrich, Israeli finance minister
Reside broadcasts Sunday confirmed blooms of smoke rising throughout the Gaza Strip, as Israeli warplanes hit a number of areas in Rafah, Khan Yunis and Deir al Balah, killing not less than 15 individuals, Palestinian well being officers mentioned. The Israeli navy mentioned one one soldier and one officer had been killed.
In an announcement, the Israeli navy accused the militant group Hamas of firing an anti-tank missile at troops in southern Gaza, calling the assault “a blatant violation of the ceasefire settlement.” The navy added that it responded “to eradicate the risk and dismantle tunnel shafts and navy buildings used for terrorist exercise.”
Later, experiences of dozens of assaults by Hamas got here in from native media.
A wounded Palestinian baby is delivered to Nasser Hospital after an Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on Oct. 19, 2025.
(Jehad Alshrafi / Related Press)
“Hamas can pay a heavy worth for each shot and each breach of the ceasefire,” Israeli Protection Minister Israel Katz mentioned in an announcement. “If the message shouldn’t be understood, our response will change into more and more extreme.”
The Israel Protection Forces mentioned targets included “weapons storage amenities, infrastructure used for terrorist exercise, firing posts, terrorist cells, and extra terrorist infrastructure websites. The IDF additionally struck and dismantled [nearly 4 miles] of underground terrorist infrastructure, utilizing over 120 munitions.”
Flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes
— Izzat al-Risheq, senior Hamas official, on Israeli strikes
Hamas’ navy wing, the Qassam Brigades, denied any connection to the violence in Rafah, saying that it was “unaware of any occasions or clashes going down within the Rafah space” and that it hadn’t had contact with any of its fighters since March, when Israel broke an earlier ceasefire.
Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq insisted that it was Israel — and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — that was persevering with to violate the settlement and fabricating “flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes.”
“Netanyahu’s makes an attempt to evade and disavow his commitments come underneath stress from his extremist terrorist coalition, in an try and evade his obligations to the mediators and guarantors,” Al-Risheq wrote on his Telegram messaging app channel.
Hamas says Israel has violated the ceasefire 47 instances, killing 38 Palestinians and injuring 143 for the reason that truce started Oct. 10.
Israeli twins Gali and Ziv Berman, who had been not too long ago launched from Hamas captivity in Gaza, are welcomed house as they return from the hospital to Beit Guvrin, Israel, on Oct. 19, 2025.
(Ariel Schalit / Related Press)
Within the days since, Hamas has handed over 20 dwelling hostages kidnapped in its operation on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the battle; in change, Israel launched greater than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Hamas additionally returned the our bodies of 12 different hostages who died in captivity, and mentioned it was nonetheless trying to find the stays of 16 others.
The Qassam Brigades mentioned in a later assertion Sunday that it had recovered one other physique and that it could ship it to Israel that day “if discipline circumstances allow.” It added that any escalation “will hinder the search, excavation, and restoration of the our bodies.”
Israel nonetheless controls simply over half of Gaza’s territory.
The violence Sunday sparked calls from Israeli leaders throughout the political spectrum for a return to the battle towards Hamas. A Netanyahu rival — Israeli politician Benny Gantz — mentioned that “all choices should be on the desk.”
Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultranationalist minister in Netanyahu’s authorities who was towards any truce with Hamas, mentioned combating ought to resume “with most power.” His right-wing ally, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, tweeted a single phrase: “Conflict!”
Particulars on what had prompted the Israeli onslaught remained scant. The Israeli each day newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported the incident started at 10 a.m., when Hamas fighters emerged from a tunnel and fired an anti-tank missile at an engineering car. That was adopted by sniper fireplace at one other car.
However one Palestinian channel on Telegram seen as near Hamas mentioned the goal was a Palestinian militia that had labored all through the battle with Israel.
The pinnacle of that militia, Yasser Abu Shabab, didn’t reply to questions despatched to the militia’s e mail tackle.
Family grieve because the our bodies of Palestinians killed by Israeli fireplace are dropped at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza, Oct. 19, 2025.
(Abdel Kareem Hana / Related Press)
The violence comes a day after the State Division mentioned in a uncommon weekend assertion that there have been “credible experiences indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas towards the individuals of Gaza.”
The State Division warned that “ought to Hamas proceed with this assault, measures will likely be taken to guard the individuals of Gaza and protect the integrity of the ceasefire.”
In response, Hamas dismissed what it referred to as “U.S. allegations” as “false” and mentioned that they “totally align with the deceptive Israeli propaganda.” It accused Israel of supporting “felony gangs” that it mentioned had been assaulting Palestinian civilians.
“Felony gangs” was an obvious reference to militias competing with Hamas for management of Gaza. Final week, video emerged of what was mentioned to be Hamas operatives executing accused collaborators in Gaza.
Final week, Trump famous the interior conflicts in Gaza when he repeated his demand that Hamas abide by a key a part of the 20-point peace pact: that it disarm. If not, Trump warned Hamas, “we could have no selection however to go in and kill them.”
The battle started after Hamas-led militants blitzed into southern Israel and killed about 1,200 individuals, two-thirds of them civilians, based on Israeli authorities, and kidnapped about 250 others.
Israel’s marketing campaign in Gaza has killed greater than 68,000 Palestinians, based on the Well being Ministry in Gaza, which says the bulk are girls and youngsters and which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its depend.
