By David Crowe
London: Israel says the ceasefire in Gaza has resumed after it earlier clashed with Hamas and blocked the flow of food and medical supplies to Palestinians in the most serious test yet of this month’s truce.
The Israel Defence Forces on Sunday launched airstrikes and artillery fire against militants in the southern part of the war-torn territory near the Rafah crossing into Egypt, saying Hamas fighters had fired an anti-tank missile and gunfire at the soldiers, killing two.
But US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire he brokered a little over a week ago was still in place.
He told reporters aboard Air Force One that Hamas has been “quite rambunctious” and “they’ve been doing some shooting”, but suggested that the violence might be the fault of “rebels” within the organisation rather than its leadership.
“Either way … it’s going to be handled toughly but properly,” he said.
He did not say whether he thought the Israeli strikes were justified, saying “it’s under review”.
The ceasefire has been under growing pressure after Hamas failed to transfer all the bodies of 28 deceased hostages it had agreed to release by last Monday, while Israel responded by halting aid deliveries despite promising to allow more food, water and medical help.
Smoke billows following an Israeli strike that targeted a building in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday.Credit: AFP
Aid into Gaza was set to resume overnight following US pressure, an Israeli security source said, shortly after Israel announced it would stay suspended until further notice in response to what it said was a “blatant” violation by Hamas of the truce.
Hamas, however, said the Israeli forces had repeatedly violated the ceasefire and claimed, without verification by any other source, that 46 people had been killed in recent days.
The strikes on Sunday killed at least 26 people in Gaza, including at least one woman and one child, according to local residents and health authorities. Al-Awda hospital said it received 24 bodies from several Israeli strikes in the Nuseirat and Bureij camps in central Gaza.
Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were expected to travel to Israel overnight, according to Israeli and US officials.
“We’re going to have to see what’s happening. We want to make sure that it’s going to be very peaceful with Hamas,” Trump said.
The armed wing of Hamas said it remained committed to the ceasefire agreement, was unaware of clashes in Rafah, and had not been in contact with groups there since March.
The BBC, citing local sources, reported that an Israeli airstrike on the town of al-Zawaida in central Gaza had killed six members of the Hamas al-Qassam Brigades, including Yahya al-Mabhouh, the commander of an elite unit.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed the military to take “strong action” against any ceasefire violations but didn’t threaten to return to war.
Wounded Palestinian infants are treated at Nasser Hospital in Gaza on Sunday after an Israeli army strike.Credit: AP
“Hamas continues to show that their barbaric and irresponsible actions are the biggest threat to the Israeli and Palestinian people,” his office said on Sunday (Monday AEDT).
“We will respond forcefully against their brutal rule and thwart their weakening grip on Gaza.”
Netanyahu is insisting that Hamas put down its weapons under the terms of the peace plan, which sets out long-term goals for a transitional authority to manage Gaza and also stipulates that Hamas leaders would gain safe passage to leave for third countries.
Hamas has not agreed to demilitarise and has instead executed rivals inside the territory over the past week, asserting its control by force. Hamas is designated a terrorist group by Australia and other countries.
A man shoots in the air during the funeral of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on Sunday.Credit: AP
US Vice President JD Vance said there were about 40 different cells of Hamas and no security infrastructure yet in place to confirm their disarmament.
“Some of those cells will probably honour the ceasefire. Many of those cells … will not,” he told reporters.
“Before we actually can ensure that Hamas is properly disarmed, that’s going to require … some of these Gulf Arab states, to get forces in there, to actually apply some law and order and security keeping on the ground.”
One of Israel’s most hawkish leaders in the war in Gaza, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has called for fighting to be resumed at “full strength” in the territory.
The Australian government imposed sanctions on Ben-Gvir in June on the grounds that he incited supported systemic violence against Palestinians.
The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. Hamas-led militants killed around 1200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war.
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