Gaza‘s fragile ceasefire was hanging by a thread on Sunday after Israel bombed the territory again in response to Hamas killing two of its soldiers.
Israel also announced it was halting the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza until further notice, following Hamas’s ‘blatant violation of the agreement’.
The BBC said Gaza hospitals sources claimed 44 people were killed in the Israeli air strikes on Sunday. However, Israel said it would resume its enforcement of the ceasefire.
The bombings came after Hamas attacked Israeli soldiers situated behind the agreed yellow line of control ‘at least three’ times.
In one of these incidents, in Rafah, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said ‘a cell of terror operatives emerged from a tunnel and fired RPGs at an excavator’ that was clearing Hamas infrastructure.
The two troops killed in the attack, were Major Yaniv Kula, 26, and Staff Sergeant Itay Yavetz, 21. Another soldier was wounded.
The IDF has also accused the terror group of hunting down and ‘publicly executing’ Palestinian civilians it accused of being ‘collaborators’.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered ‘firm action’ in response to the ceasefire violations.
Smoke billows following an Israeli strike that targeted a building in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on October 19, 2025
People run for cover following an Israeli strike that targeted a building in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on October 19, 2025
Hamas has since denied it was responsible for the three incidents.
In an update last night, an IDF official said: ‘Hamas has repeatedly violated its terms, escalating its brutality against Gazans and continuing to hold the bodies of 16 of our hostages. Videos have circulated showing Hamas hunting down and publicly executing Gazans in broad daylight.
‘In accordance with the directive of the political echelon, the transfer of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip has been halted until further notice.’
The ceasefire agreement committed Israel to allowing 600 aid trucks into Gaza every day.
However, even before last night’s suspension it had already halved the number following Hamas’s failure to return all the deceased hostages in time.
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said: ‘We have instructed the IDF to act forcefully against Hamas’ terror targets in Gaza. Hamas will pay a heavy price for every shooting and violation of the ceasefire and if the message is not understood, the intensity of the reactions will increase.’
A statement by Mr Netanyahu’s office said reopening the key humanitarian aid route into Gaza, through the Rafah border, would depend on how Hamas fulfils its ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 deceased hostages.
In the past week, Hamas has handed over 13 bodies, 12 of which have been identified as hostages.
