Gaza Ceasefire Resumes After Israeli Attacks Kill 44 Palestinians

Gaza: The Israeli military announced on Sunday that the ceasefire in Gaza had been resumed following an incident that killed two of its soldiers. This incident had prompted a series of airstrikes that resulted in the deaths of over 44 Palestinians, an act that was described as a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement. While Israel initially blamed Hamas for the incident that killed the soldiers in Rafah, it has since retracted those allegations.

On Sunday night, war crime-ac cused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the soldiers “fell in the difficult incident in Rafah” without naming Hamas. US journalists reported that the Trump administration had rebuked Israel’s claim of a Hamas ambush, with unconfirmed reports suggesting an Israeli tank hit an "unexploded IED."

The devastating consequences of the incident were "massive waves" of Israeli attacks targeting displaced Palestinians who were attempting to return to normal life. The Gaza Hospital Statistics Group confirmed that 44 people were killed and dozens more injured in the airstrikes.

The Gaza Media Office stated that the Israeli occupation has committed 80 violations since the ceasefire decision, resulting in "97 martyrs" and 230 wounded. “These violations included crimes of direct gunfire at civilians, deliberate bombardment and targeting, the execution of “fire belts,” and the arrest of a number of civilian citizens — practices that reflect the occupation’s ongoing aggressive approach, its clear desire for field escalation, and its persistent thirst for bloodshed and killing.”

In related news, Israel announced on Saturday that the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which had been expected to reopen this week, would remain closed. Its reopening, Israel stated, depended on Hamas fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire by handing over all the bodies of deceased hostages.

Hamas had previously released all 20 living hostages and later handed over 12 of the 28 deceased captives, citing difficulties caused by the havoc Israel’s genocide has caused for the delay.

On Sunday, the Al-Qassam Brigades said they had located one body during ongoing search operations and intended to hand it over "today if field conditions permit," warning that “any Zionist escalation will impede search, excavation, and recovery efforts, leading to delays in the occupation’s retrieval of its dead bodies.”