Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Under Threat Following Alleged Violations and Renewed Airstrikes in Gaza

Smoke raises after an Israeli army strike in Northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

Gaza's civil defence agency reported that Israel conducted air strikes on Tuesday despite an ongoing ceasefire, following the Israeli military's accusation that Hamas attacked its troops and violated the US-brokered truce.

According to a spokesman for Gaza's civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas, at least 30 people were killed in strikes targeting various parts of Gaza.

Despite Tuesday's incidents, US Vice President JD Vance stated that the ceasefire was holding, describing the events as mere "skirmishes".

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered "powerful strikes" on Gaza, his office announced, while Defence Minister Israel Katz accused Hamas of attacking Israeli troops in Gaza.

Katz declared in a statement, "Hamas's attack today on IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers in Gaza is a crossing of a bright red line, to which the IDF will respond with great force."

Although Katz did not specify where the troops were attacked, Hamas claimed its fighters had "no connection to the shooting incident in Rafah".

In comments broadcast on Fox News and shared on social media by the White House, Vance affirmed that the ceasefire was holding.

"That doesn't mean that there aren't going to be little skirmishes," said the vice president, one of several top US officials who rushed to Israel last week to reinforce the fragile ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump.

"We know that Hamas or somebody else within Gaza attacked an IDF soldier. We expect the Israelis are going to respond -- but I think the president's peace is going to hold," he added.

Gaza's civil defence agency reported at least three strikes were carried out, with the territory's main Al-Shifa hospital stating that one hit its backyard.

The agency reported that five people were killed when their vehicle was struck by an air strike.

Hamas had announced it would hand over the body of another hostage on Tuesday as required by Israel under the ceasefire agreement.

During the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war, Hamas militants took 251 people hostage.

A dispute over the remaining bodies of deceased hostages has threatened to derail the ceasefire.

Israel accuses Hamas of reneging by not returning them, while the Palestinian Islamist group argues it needs time to locate the remains amid Gaza's war-ravaged ruins.

Hamas later announced it would delay Tuesday's handover, adding that Israeli "escalation will hinder the search, excavation, and recovery of the bodies".

In a subsequent statement on Telegram, Hamas's armed wing claimed it had found the bodies of two hostages on Tuesday.

It did not indicate when it would hand them over.

Hamas faced increasing pressure after returning partial remains of a previously recovered captive on Monday, which Israel considered a breach of the truce.

Hamas had stated the remains were the 16th of 28 hostage bodies it agreed to return under the ceasefire deal, which took effect on October 10.

However, Israeli forensic examination determined that Hamas had actually handed over partial remains of a hostage whose body had already been returned to Israel approximately two years ago, according to Netanyahu's office.

Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian accused Hamas of staging the discovery of the remains.

"I can confirm to you today that Hamas dug a hole in the ground yesterday, placed the partial remains... inside of it, covered it back up with dirt, and handed it over to the Red Cross," she told journalists.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the government to "act decisively against these violations" and accused Hamas of knowing the location of the missing hostages.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem rejected claims that the group knows where the remaining bodies are, arguing that Israel's bombardment during the two-year war had left locations unrecognisable.

Qassem told AFP, "The movement is determined to hand over the bodies of the Israeli captives as soon as possible once they are located."

Hamas has already returned all 20 living hostages as agreed in the ceasefire deal.

Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza killed at least 68,531 people, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.

Despite the ceasefire, the death toll continues to rise as more bodies are discovered under the rubble.

On the ground in Gaza, 60-year-old Abdul-Hayy al-Hajj Ahmed told AFP he feared the war would resume because of the mounting pressure on Hamas.

"Now they accuse Hamas of stalling, and that is a pretext for renewed escalation and war," he said.

"We want to rest. I believe the war will come back."