Gaza’s civil defence agency reported on Wednesday that overnight Israeli airstrikes killed at least 50 people across the Palestinian territory, just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that “nothing” would threaten the ceasefire he had helped broker.
According to the agency, the dead included 22 children, as well as women and elderly civilians, while around 200 others were wounded. Civil defence spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal described the situation as “catastrophic and terrifying,” calling the strikes “a clear and flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement.” He said the bombardment targeted tents for displaced families, residential homes, and areas near a hospital.
Israel launched the strikes late Tuesday after accusing Hamas of attacking its troops in Gaza in breach of the truce. Hamas, however, denied any connection to the alleged attack in Rafah and reaffirmed its commitment to the U.S.-mediated ceasefire.
The Israeli military confirmed that one soldier, 37-year-old Yona Efraim Feldbaum, was killed during combat in southern Gaza on Tuesday. His family has been notified.
Speaking from Air Force One during his Asia tour, Trump defended Israel’s right to respond, saying, “They killed an Israeli soldier. So the Israelis hit back. And they should hit back.” However, he maintained that the truce remained intact, adding, “Nothing’s going to jeopardise” the agreement. U.S. Vice President JD Vance also said the ceasefire was holding despite recent “skirmishes.”
Hospitals Hit in Strikes
Medical officials in Gaza reported that one of the airstrikes hit the yard of Al-Shifa Hospital, while Al-Awda Hospital received several bodies, including those of four children, following a bombing in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
Hamas announced it was postponing the handover of another hostage’s body, citing Israeli “escalation” as an obstacle to ongoing recovery efforts. The group had abducted 251 people during its October 7, 2023 assault on Israel, which ignited the current war. Disputes over the remaining hostage bodies have threatened to unravel the ceasefire deal.
Israel accuses Hamas of breaching the agreement by failing to return the bodies, while Hamas argues that locating them amid Gaza’s devastation will take time. The group said it had recovered the bodies of two hostages on Tuesday but did not specify when they would be transferred.
Mounting Tensions Over Hostage Returns
Earlier this week, Hamas came under criticism after returning partial remains of a previously recovered captive. Israeli authorities said forensic analysis revealed the remains belonged to a hostage already repatriated two years earlier, accusing Hamas of staging the discovery.
“Hamas dug a hole in the ground, placed the partial remains inside, and handed it to the Red Cross,” Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian alleged. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the government to “act decisively” against such violations, claiming Hamas knows the whereabouts of the remaining captives.
Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem denied the accusation, insisting that ongoing Israeli bombardment had rendered many sites unrecognisable. He said the group remains “determined to hand over the bodies of Israeli captives as soon as possible once they are located.”
So far, Hamas has returned all 20 living hostages as stipulated under the ceasefire terms.
Rising Death Toll
Hamas’s October 2023 attacks killed 1,221 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to official figures. Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza has claimed at least 68,531 lives, based on health ministry data deemed reliable by the United Nations. Despite the ceasefire, the death toll continues to rise as more bodies are recovered from the rubble.
In Gaza, residents expressed fear that the fragile truce may collapse. “Now they accuse Hamas of stalling, and that’s just a pretext for renewed escalation and war,” said 60-year-old Abdul-Hayy al-Hajj Ahmed. “We want to rest. But I believe the war will come back.”