Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the military to launch immediate and powerful strikes on the Gaza Strip following allegations that Hamas violated the ongoing U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
“Following security consultations, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the military to immediately carry out powerful strikes in the Gaza Strip,” a statement from his office said on Tuesday.
The move came shortly after Hamas announced it would delay handing over the remains of another Israeli hostage, accusing Israel of breaching the truce terms. Hamas said the handover, originally scheduled for Tuesday, would be postponed due to what it described as Israel’s repeated “violations.”
On Monday, Hamas delivered what it claimed was the 16th of 28 hostage bodies agreed to be returned under the ceasefire deal implemented on October 10. However, Israeli forensic experts later determined the remains were partial and belonged to Ofir Tzarfati a hostage whose body had already been recovered about two years ago.
Netanyahu’s office condemned the act as a “clear violation of the agreement,” while Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum called for firm action against Hamas.
Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian accused Hamas of staging the recovery, claiming the group “dug a hole, placed the partial remains inside, and handed them over to the Red Cross.” She said Israel’s response would be coordinated with U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration.
Hamas, however, denied the accusations, insisting it did not know the locations of all the bodies due to Israel’s extensive bombardment of Gaza during the two-year conflict. The group maintained its commitment to returning the bodies once located.
Hamas’s health ministry in Gaza also accused Israel of violating the ceasefire, reporting that at least 94 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire since the truce began.
Residents in Gaza expressed fears of renewed hostilities. “Now they accuse Hamas of stalling, and that is a pretext for renewed escalation and war,” said 60-year-old Abdul-Hayy al-Hajj Ahmed. “We want peace, but I believe the war will return.”
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, urged stronger military action, writing on X, “It is time to break its legs once and for all.”
The truce deal followed months of conflict that began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which left 1,221 Israelis dead and 251 taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has since killed over 68,000 people in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry, which the United Nations considers credible.
Ofir Tzarfati, whose remains sparked the renewed tensions, was among those abducted during the October 7 assault while attending the Nova music festival. His family said the latest handover marks the third time his remains have been returned, calling it a painful reopening of old wounds.
“The circle supposedly closed back in December 2023, but it never truly closes,” the Tzarfati family said.
