Israel carried out several strikes in Gaza and ordered the suspension of humanitarian aid after accusing Hamas of violating the US sanctions.
The months-long showdown is in its second week and has seen previous allegations from both sides of violations but now faces the most critical scrutiny yet.
An Israeli military official said Hamas attacked Israeli forces in Rafah in southern Gaza with rocket-propelled grenades and sniper fire, prompting Israel to carry out strikes in the area.
Hamas pushed Israeli forces across the Yellow Line – the line behind which Israeli forces withdrew according to the Recongfire Deal – in three separate incidents on Sunday.
Another source familiar with the incident in Rafah said that the Israeli forces were attacked.
Hospitals and Witnesses report at least eight people were killed in Israel in several sections of Gaza.
With the departure of an Israeli official and later Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a halt until further notice.
At the beginning of the year, the program behind said parts of Gaza are facing famine and the case raised hopes of helping people in the field.
Friends and relatives mourn over the body of a pet killed in an Israeli strike in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday. – Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images
Friends and relatives mourn the death of a loved one outside Derir al-Balah’s Shuhada Al-Aqsa hospital on Sunday. – Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images
Hamas said in a statement on Sunday that it has committed itself to the ceasefire agreement. Its military wing, Al Qassam Brigades (AQB), denied knowledge of “any incidents or conflicts” in Rafah and said it was committed to the area “in the entire Gaza strip.”
Netanyahu held a security consultation with Israel’s Defense Minister KATZ and military chiefs on Sunday, who ordered them to “use” terrorist 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 magnitude of our responses will continue to increase,” Katz said in a statement.
Netanyahu is under pressure to respond to any violations from the respective parties that support the coalition.
Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, welcomed the suspension of aid. “This Aid must not be reopened – the war must – and as soon as possible,” he wrote in X.
Amid the renewed strikes, AQB said it had found the body of another Israeli during an ongoing search, “and will hand it over today if field conditions permit.”
The AQB warned that any increase in the Israeli military would “block, dig, fix bodies.”
Hamas is at odds with rivals
While much is not known about this incident in Rafah, it happened on Sunday morning as the Hamas security Rada’a security was targeted in the “case” of the war supported by Israel led by Yasser Abu Shabab. In June, Israel confirmed that it was arming a few such soldiers in an effort to fight Hamas.
Muhammad Shehada, an expert on Gaza at the European Council on foreign relations, said these fighters are now coming from the Israeli-occupied areas of Gaza, and are starting to attack these protected areas. “
Since the trade began last week, Hamas has carried out what it calls a “security campaign” aimed at “collaborators, mercenaries, thieves, bandits, and those who cooperate with the enemy of Gaza throughout the Gaza strip.”
The internal clashes have created a tense security situation with violence erupting between Hamas and rival groups in several neighborhoods in Gaza City as large crowds look on.
Sunday’s incident brought further impetus to Reseamfire, with next steps still being drafted.
Israel shot dead Palestinians suspected of approaching the yellow line, in what Hamas called a “flagrant violation” of the cease-fire. Israel also accuses Hamas of delaying the return of all hostages held in Gaza as required by the agreement, and closing the main border crossing until it is over.
Hamas returned 12 of the 28 bodies that were roasted in accordance with the cease-fire agreement with Israel, which came into force last week. All 12 have now been officially identified.
This story has been updated with additional information and context.
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