People watch as Hamas fighters carry a recovered body into a tunnel in an area north of Khan Yunis. Photo: AFP
JERUSALEM/CAIRO:
Israeli planes launched strikes in Gaza City on Tuesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire in the Palestinian territory and ordered the army to carry out “powerful attacks.”
At least two people were killed and four injured in a strike on a residential building in the Sabra neighborhood, and an area near Shifa Hospital, the largest operational hospital in northern Gaza, was also hit, according to Gaza officials, witnesses and Hamas media.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strikes, which are the latest violence in a fragile three-week-old ceasefire and follow a statement from Netanyahu’s office saying he had ordered immediate attacks.
The statement did not give a specific reason for the attacks, but an Israeli military official said Hamas had violated the ceasefire by carrying out an attack against Israeli forces in an area of the enclave under Israeli control.
“This is another blatant violation of the ceasefire,” the official said. The US-backed ceasefire agreement took effect on October 10, ending two years of war sparked by Hamas’s deadly attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, which devastated the narrow coastal strip.
Both camps accuse each other of ceasefire violations. Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli media reported an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters in Rafah.
The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on this information. Hamas has denied responsibility for an attack on Israeli forces in Rafah. The group also said in a statement that it remained committed to the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Tuesday’s strikes on Gaza City follow what Israel called a “targeted strike” on Saturday against a person in central Gaza who it said was planning to attack Israeli troops.
Netanyahu said earlier Tuesday that Hamas had violated the ceasefire by returning erroneous remains as part of the process of repatriating the hostages’ bodies to Israel. Netanyahu said the remains handed over Monday belonged to Ofir Tzarfati, an Israeli killed in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
Tzarfati’s remains had already been partially recovered by Israeli troops during the war. Hamas initially said in response that it would hand over to Israel on Tuesday the body of a missing hostage found in a Gaza tunnel.
However, Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, later said it would postpone the planned handover, citing what it sees as ceasefire violations by Israel. Hamas said Netanyahu was looking for excuses to evade Israel’s obligations.
