Israel’s military said on Wednesday that the ceasefire was back on in Gaza after it carried out heavy air strikes overnight across the Palestinian territory that killed 104 people, including 46 children, according to local health officials.
The strikes – the deadliest since the ceasefire was enacted on October 10 – marked the most serious challenge to the tenuous truce to date.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to conduct “powerful strikes” over Gaza after accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire when the militant group handed over body parts that Israel said were the partial remains of a hostage recovered earlier in the war.
Netanyahu called the return of these body parts a “clear violation” of the ceasefire agreement, which requires Hamas to return the remaining hostages in Gaza as soon as possible. Israeli officials also accused Hamas of staging the discovery of these remains on Monday, sharing a 14-minute edited video captured by a military drone in Gaza.
In response to the Israeli strikes, Hamas said that it would delay handing over the body of another hostage.
US President Donald Trump, currently on a trip to Asia, defended the strikes, saying Israel was justified in carrying them out after what he said was an incident in which Hamas killed an Israeli soldier during an exchange of gunfire in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.
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