Trump’s fragile Gaza ceasefire on brink as Israel orders ‘powerful strikes’ | World | News

Benjamin Netanyahu says he has ordered the Israel’s forces to immediately carry out “powerful strikes” in Gaza. Hamas responded by saying it would delay handing over the body of a hostage, in a new test for the tenuous ceasefire brokered by Donald Trump‘s White House which began on October 10.

The order from the Iraeli Prime Minister on Tuesday afternoon follows heightened tensions, as Israel reported Hamas firing on its forces in southern Gaza and after Hamas returned a set of remains that Israel said belonged to a hostage recovered earlier in the war. Netanyahu called the return a “clear violation” of the ceasefire agreement, which requires Hamas to return all Israeli hostage remains as soon as possible.

The ceasefire that began on October 10 has largely held despite at least two previous flareups in violence.

On October 19, Israel said two Israeli soldiers were killed by Hamas fire. Israel responded with a series of strikes that killed over 40 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

And over the weekend, Israel carried out an airstrike against what it said were Islamic Jihad militants planning an attack, wounding several people.

There are still 13 bodies of hostages in Gaza. Hamas said Tuesday it had recovered the body of a hostage, but after Israeli announced the plans to strike Gaza, Hamas said in a statement it would delay the handover.

The slow return of hostages’ bodies is posing a challenge to implementing the next stages of the ceasefire, which will address even knottier issues, such as the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force in Gaza and deciding who will govern the territory.

Hamas has said it is struggling to locate the bodies amid the vast destruction in Gaza, while Israel has accused the militant group of purposely delaying their return. Over the weekend, Egypt deployed a team of experts and heavy equipment to help search for the bodies of the remaining hostages. That work continued on Tuesday in Khan Younis and Nuseirat.

In exchange for 15 dead hostages returned from Gaza since the ceasefire began, Israel has handed back to Gaza 195 Palestinian bodies. The last 20 living hostages were returned to Israel at the start of the ceasefire, and in exchange, Israel freed roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

This comes as, earlier on Tuesday, Israeli authorities said they had killed three Palestinian militants early during an operation in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, the latest action in Israel’s stepped-up military activity in the territory since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

Israeli police said the three men were shot as they came out of a cave near Jenin, a town in the northern West Bank known as a militant stronghold. The Israeli military said in a statement that the militants “took part in terror activity in Jenin,” but gave no further details.

Two militants were shot and killed in the initial volley of gunfire. The third, who was wounded, was killed shortly after, according to the Israeli military.

An earlier statement said the Israeli military carried out an airstrike shortly afterwards to destroy the cave. The army confirmed an airstrike in the area but gave no further details.

Hamas condemned the Jenin strike and later identified two of the three men as militants with Hamas’ Qassam Brigades. The third man was referred to as a “comrade,” but no additional details about him were given.

Israel claims its operations have cracked down on militants in the West Bank. But Palestinians and human rights groups allege that scores of uninvolved civilians have also been among the dead, while tens of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes.

Over 68,500 Palestinians have died in the two-year war in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. Israel has disputed the casualty records without providing its own toll.