The tenuous truce in Gaza was shattered on Sunday evening as Israel launched a fresh wave of attacks against “Hamas targets” in the narrow enclave. Both Hamas and the Israeli Defence Force have accused each other of violating the US-brokered ceasefire that ended two years of war last week. The developments came hours after the US reported that it had “credible information” about the militant group planning an attack on Gazans — an allegation that Hamas vehemently rejected.
“In response to the blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement earlier today, the IDF has begun a series of strikes against Hamas terror targets in the southern Gaza,” the IDF wrote on X.
Local media outlets reported that Tel Aviv had also announced plans to suspend the delivery of aid into Gaza until further notice after the government accused Hamas of violating a ceasefire agreement. Tel Aviv has so far refused to open the Rafah Border Crossing between Gaza and Egypt — with Netanyahu insisting on Saturday that reopening depended on Hamas handing over the bodies of deceased hostages. The assertion came soon after the Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced that the main gateway for Gazans to leave and enter the enclave would reopen on Monday for entry into Gaza.
Israel planning phase 2 of Gaza war?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also sparked buzz about a second “phase” of the recently paused war — insisting that the conflict would “truly end” once Hamas has been disarmed.
“Phase B also involves the disarming of Hamas or more precisely, the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip, following the stripping of Hamas of its weapons. When that is successfully completed, hopefully in an easy way, but if not, in a hard way, then the war will end,” said Netanyahu.
The American State Department had also issued a strong warning on Saturday about retaliatory action if the truce was violated. Officials confirmed that top US envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were also expected to travel to Israel on Monday.
