Deadly flare-up tests Israel-Hamas ceasefire

One week ago, US President Donald Trump received a hero’s welcome in Israel after securing a ceasefire in Gaza and exchanging Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

But the days that followed showed just how dangerous the ceasefire was, and Sunday represented its biggest test yet.

The Israel Defense Forces launched a series of deadly attacks across the Gaza Strip, after two soldiers were killed in an attack for which Hamas was blamed. An Israeli security official announced the suspension of aid delivery.

It appears that American pressure ensured that the truce would not be derailed and that the Israeli crossings with Gaza would reopen on Monday. It is now clear that mediators must remain closely engaged to support the deal and resolve key issues regarding the future of Gaza and Hamas.

The president’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, have already returned to the region while Hamas negotiators meet with Egyptian mediators and Palestinian factions in Cairo.

All are expected to discuss the second phase of Trump’s 20-point peace plan, which includes the deployment of an international stabilization force in Gaza, the eventual withdrawal of the Israeli army and, most importantly, the disarmament of Hamas.

Palestinians and Israelis are shaken by the latest collapse.

“Since the beginning of the war, I have been with him 24 hours a day, and I have never left him,” Shadi Abu Ubaid, the bereaved father, told the BBC in Khan Yunis, while holding back tears at the funeral of his 14-year-old son, Muhammad, early Monday.

Shadi added: “Because of the ceasefire, I felt more comfortable and allowed him to go out with his friends.” “It was calm and there were supposed to be international guarantees.”

Muhammad was martyred with two others in an Israeli raid on a tent in Al-Mawasi. The Israeli army did not comment on who or what specifically was targeted.

Local hospitals said at least 45 Palestinians were killed after the Israeli military said it struck “dozens of Hamas terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip.”

The BBC learned that a number of members of the armed wing of Hamas, including a commander, were killed in a raid on a temporary cafe in central Gaza. But footage from other locations showed civilians, including children, among the dead.

Trump envoys – who played a key role in negotiations with Hamas – were expected to meet in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, before the recent events.

Before leaving the United States, the two men gave an interview to CBS’s 60 Minutes, where they described how they broke diplomatic protocols to hold direct talks with Hamas leaders during ceasefire talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

They said that the aim was to provide guarantees that fighting would not resume after the return of the Israeli hostages. Kushner – Trump’s son-in-law – said the president was “very, very comfortable” with such an approach.

He also said signs indicate Hamas is acting in “good faith” to return the bodies of deceased hostages — a major point of contention with Israel, before Sunday’s events, which threaten the ceasefire. Sixteen bodies have not yet been delivered. Hamas said it had found another body and would be returned when “conditions permit.”

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, President Trump stressed that the truce remains in place and that “we want to make sure it’s going to be very peaceful.”

When it came to the threat of internal violence and score-settling by Hamas in Gaza, he said Hamas was “very agitated” and “they did some shooting.” But he added that “the leadership may not be involved,” and that there could be “some rebels inside.”

The Israeli army denied reports that its operations on Sunday were caused by a clash between Hamas and an Israeli-allied militia in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. It said that Hamas launched several direct attacks on its forces in an area still under its control, with an anti-tank missile and gunfire.

An Israeli government spokeswoman said that forces were working near Rafah “to dismantle terrorist infrastructure, all in accordance with the ceasefire agreement.”

Hamas, which accused Israel of committing multiple ceasefire violations, said that communications with its remaining cells in Rafah had been cut off for months and that it was “not responsible for any incidents that occur in those areas.”

Recent events have made Israeli commentators once again focus on the weaknesses of the deal agreed upon by Israel and Hamas.

In the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, journalist and author Amir Tibon noted that it was “full of vague wording that left large gaps.”

One problem he says was left unresolved “is the fate of Hamas fighters who were stranded in Israeli-controlled Gaza areas when the ceasefire came into effect.” The Israeli army currently controls about half of the territory demarcated by the so-called Yellow Line.

In the newspaper “Israel Hayom”, military columnist Yoav Limor describes the fighting near Rafah as a “warning,” adding: “If Israel fails to set strict and clear rules against Hamas, it may find itself on a slippery slope.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz has apparently been doing just that ever since, sending a message that any Hamas fighters outside the yellow line, in Israeli-controlled parts of Gaza, must leave immediately and that Hamas leaders will be held accountable for their actions.

As Palestinians expressed confusion over the exact location of the line, the Israeli army released a video showing bulldozers pulling yellow blocks into place to mark it.

Palestinian health officials said on Monday that Israeli fire killed three people east of Gaza City. The Israeli army said that its forces opened fire on “several terrorists” who crossed the yellow line in the Shujaiya area.

It is now expected that a strongly worded speech and internal pressure will be directed at Netanyahu as the Israeli parliament begins its winter session, and with the scheduled internal elections within the Likud Party led by the Prime Minister.

Netanyahu ordered the army to take “strong measures” against violations of the agreement, but refrained from threatening a return to war.

On the Palestinian side, Hamas spokesman Muhammad Nazzal called for rapid approval of the formation of a committee of politically independent Palestinian technocrats to govern Gaza, and told Al Jazeera that Hamas had presented a list of more than 40 proposed names for mediators.

However, in a separate interview with Reuters, he indicated that Hamas intends to maintain security control in Gaza for a temporary period, illustrating another major obstacle to consolidating a full end to the war in Gaza.

In the United States, Vice President J.D. Vance downplayed the shaking of the ceasefire, saying: “There will be intermittent periods.” He said it was “the best opportunity to achieve sustainable peace.”

Meanwhile, Witkoff and Kushner are expected to continue holding other meetings in Cairo. There are significant hurdles to overcome before there can be further ceasefire celebrations in Gaza.