Sawt Falasteen - Israel says halting Gaza strikes after accusing Hamas of violating truce

Gaza's civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said at least 45 people had been killed across the territory in Israeli strikes.

Four hospitals in Gaza confirmed the death toll of 45 to AFP, saying they had received the dead and wounded.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports of casualties.

On Sunday evening, the Israeli military said in a statement: "In response to the blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement earlier today, the IDF (Israeli military) has begun a series of strikes against Hamas terror targets in the southern Gaza Strip."

The Islamist group denied the accusations, with one official accusing Israel of fabricating "pretexts" to resume the war.

In a separate statement, the Israeli military said two of its soldiers "fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip". The prime minister's office later said they were killed in Rafah.

A security official also told AFP that Israel was suspending the entry of aid into Gaza, blaming "Hamas's blatant violations" of the ceasefire.

Israel repeatedly cut off aid to the territory during the war, exacerbating dire humanitarian conditions, with the United Nations saying it caused a famine in northern Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier on Sunday instructed security forces to take "strong action against terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip", his office said in a statement, accusing Hamas of "a ceasefire violation".

Defence Minister Israel Katz then warned that the group would "pay a heavy price for every shot and every breach of the ceasefire", adding Israel's response would "become increasingly severe".

Later on Sunday the military said it had "renewed enforcement of the ceasefire" but vowed to "respond firmly to any violation of it".

- 'Blood has returned again' -

The truce in the Palestinian territory, brokered by US President Donald Trump and taking effect on 10 October, brought to a halt more than two years of devastating war between Israel and Hamas.

The deal established the outline for hostage and prisoner exchanges, and was proposed alongside an ambitious roadmap for Gaza's future but has quickly faced challenges to its implementation.

"Earlier today, terrorists fired anti-tank missiles and opened fire on IDF (army) forces," in Rafah, the military said in a statement.

"The IDF responded with air strikes by fighter jets and artillery fire, targeting the Rafah area," the statement said.

Palestinian witnesses told AFP clashes erupted in the southern city of Rafah in an area still held by Israel.

One witness, a 38-year-old man who asked not to be identified by name, said that Hamas had been fighting a local Palestinian gang known as Abu Shabab but the militants were "surprised by the presence of army tanks".

"The air force conducted two strikes from the air," he said.

Abdullah Abu Hasanin, 29, from Al‑Bureij camp in central Gaza where Israel launched strikes, said: "The situation is as if the war has returned anew. We had hoped the agreement would hold, but the occupation respects nothing -- not an agreement not anything."

He said he had rushed to the site of the bombing to help, adding "the scene is indescribable. Blood has returned again".

- 'Security illusion' -

A statement from Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of Hamas's political bureau, reaffirmed the group's commitment to the ceasefire and said Israel "continues to breach the agreement and fabricate flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes".

Hamas's armed wing insisted on Sunday that the group was adhering to the ceasefire agreement with Israel and had "no knowledge" of any clashes in Rafah.

Under Trump's 20-point plan, Israeli forces have withdrawn beyond the so-called Yellow Line, leaving them in control of around half of Gaza, including the territory's borders but not its main cities.

Hamas in turn has released 20 surviving hostages and is in the process of returning the remaining bodies of those who have died.

The war, triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, has killed at least 68,159 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.

The data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.

Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

- Bodies returned -

On Sunday, Israel identified the latest two bodies returned overnight as Ronen Engel, a photojournalist and volunteer ambulance driver, and Thai farmworker Sonthaya Oakkharasri.

Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Sunday, bringing the total number handed over to 150, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said.

The issue of hostage bodies still in Gaza has become a sticking point in the ceasefire implementation.

On Saturday, Israel had linked the reopening of the main gateway into the territory, the Rafah crossing, to the recovery of all of the deceased.

The group has said it needs time and technical assistance to recover the remaining bodies from under Gaza's rubble.

burs-dc-jd/dcp

N.Shalabi--SF-PST