Israeli Forces Launch Strikes in Gaza Amid Tensions Over Ceasefire Violations
Tensions between Israel and Hamas escalated on Tuesday night after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the militant group of breaching the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza. The sudden outbreak of violence marked the most significant challenge to the 18-day-old truce, which has held up until now despite recent incidents of violence.
According to witnesses, Israeli warplanes launched strikes on Gaza City and other parts of the strip shortly after Netanyahu's announcement, killing at least seven people, including two children. The US President Donald Trump warned that nothing would jeopardize the ceasefire but urged Israel to "hit back" if its soldiers were killed.
Netanyahu ordered the strikes after a firefight between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops, amid growing fury over Hamas turning over body parts of a hostage whose remains Israeli troops had recovered two years before. The Israeli Prime Minister called an emergency meeting to discuss what he called Hamas violations of the ceasefire.
Hamas denied responsibility for the attack and said it remained committed to the ceasefire deal. However, Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Hamas would "pay many times over" for attacking Israeli soldiers and for failing to turn over hostages' remains.
The US had notified Israel before launching the strikes, two US officials told the Associated Press. The US Vice-President, JD Vance, said that he thought the ceasefire would hold despite Tuesday's fighting but acknowledged that there could be "little skirmishes here and there".
The recent tensions in Gaza have been fueled by a dispute over the return of Israeli hostages' remains under the terms of the ceasefire. Hamas has yet to return 13 bodies, sparking outrage among Israelis.
Far-right figures in the Israeli government, including Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, called for "forceful responses" to Hamas's violations and demanded the destruction of the militant group. The Israeli military published footage of what it said were members of Hamas reburying a body in order to "stage a false discovery", which Hamas has yet to comment on.
The situation remains volatile, with tensions between Israel and Hamas continuing to escalate. It is unclear if the strikes ordered on Gaza will be accompanied by further punitive measures or if Netanyahu's government will take additional steps to address Hamas's alleged ceasefire violations.
Tensions between Israel and Hamas escalated on Tuesday night after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the militant group of breaching the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza. The sudden outbreak of violence marked the most significant challenge to the 18-day-old truce, which has held up until now despite recent incidents of violence.
According to witnesses, Israeli warplanes launched strikes on Gaza City and other parts of the strip shortly after Netanyahu's announcement, killing at least seven people, including two children. The US President Donald Trump warned that nothing would jeopardize the ceasefire but urged Israel to "hit back" if its soldiers were killed.
Netanyahu ordered the strikes after a firefight between Palestinian militants and Israeli troops, amid growing fury over Hamas turning over body parts of a hostage whose remains Israeli troops had recovered two years before. The Israeli Prime Minister called an emergency meeting to discuss what he called Hamas violations of the ceasefire.
Hamas denied responsibility for the attack and said it remained committed to the ceasefire deal. However, Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Hamas would "pay many times over" for attacking Israeli soldiers and for failing to turn over hostages' remains.
The US had notified Israel before launching the strikes, two US officials told the Associated Press. The US Vice-President, JD Vance, said that he thought the ceasefire would hold despite Tuesday's fighting but acknowledged that there could be "little skirmishes here and there".
The recent tensions in Gaza have been fueled by a dispute over the return of Israeli hostages' remains under the terms of the ceasefire. Hamas has yet to return 13 bodies, sparking outrage among Israelis.
Far-right figures in the Israeli government, including Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, called for "forceful responses" to Hamas's violations and demanded the destruction of the militant group. The Israeli military published footage of what it said were members of Hamas reburying a body in order to "stage a false discovery", which Hamas has yet to comment on.
The situation remains volatile, with tensions between Israel and Hamas continuing to escalate. It is unclear if the strikes ordered on Gaza will be accompanied by further punitive measures or if Netanyahu's government will take additional steps to address Hamas's alleged ceasefire violations.
omg i'm literally shaking right now thinking about what's happening in gaza 
this is so heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time i mean 7 people including 2 kids are dead because of one stupid incident where hamas didn't return those hostages' remains like come on hamas can't you just do your part to keep peace 
it's like they have no idea how much harm they're causing or how many people are suffering because of their ideology
. The fact that Israel is launching airstrikes in Gaza just hours after Netanyahu made some pretty strong accusations against Hamas is pretty alarming 
. It feels like the US is trying to balance their relationship with both sides but honestly, I'm worried about the civilians caught in the middle 
. 18 days into a ceasefire deal and already we're seeing escalations like this? It's just not right 
. Has anyone else seen what happened last night? The videos of those airstrikes are pretty chilling 
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. I just hope that some kind of peaceful solution can be found soon 
. We need to find a way to resolve our differences without hurting innocent people in the process 
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. But then again, Netanyahu is super harsh and might have overreacted with all these airstrikes... like, what if he did? 
. And what about the US supporting Israel on this? Shouldn't they be pushing both sides to talk instead of taking sides? 
. Can we just hope for peace or something? 
Its like a never-ending cycle of violence and nobody ever gets hurt 
Netanyahu is so extra, its like he's always stirring up trouble 
Far-right figures are just making it worse, I mean come on guys be rational for once 
just watched this news and its getting super scary. i mean 7 people are dead and 2 kids were among them 
. Like, we thought we were past all this drama. I'm so tired of the cycle of violence between Israel and Palestine 
Like, how do they even come up with that stuff? It's all so ridiculous. And what about the US trying to stay out of it? 
. I wish they could find a way to resolve their differences without resorting to violence 
! The thought of innocent kids being killed in a war zone just breaks my heart 
Israel and Hamas need to find a way to resolve their differences peacefully, for everyone's sake 
. We need to keep the conversation going about finding solutions that work for everyone 
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i mean, the US is already warning Israel not to escalate things, so let's keep that momentum going! 
fingers crossed for Gaza 
"you're gonna pay" much to the 7 innocent ppl who got killed lol, like what's good with that? 
. Can't we all just try to talk things out and find a peaceful solution? 
. Can we just get some peace and calm in Gaza already?!