Tensions are escalating once again in the Middle East after Israel launched strikes at Gaza, killing at least nine people. Why were the strikes ordered just a few weeks after a ceasefire deal? Read on for all of the details.

Israel Launches Strikes at Gaza After Alleged Violation of Ceasefire Deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Tuesday that he instructed his military to launch "immediate, powerful strikes in the Gaza Strip." The assault was ordered after Israeli officials accused Hamas militants of violating the recent ceasefire deal. Israel is also reporting that Hamas staged a discovery of a dead hostage. U.S. leaders were notified of Israel's decision to strike Gaza.

According to an official with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Hamas attacked troops that were stationed east of the "yellow line," the line that separates the Israeli-occupied Rafah section of Gaza from the rest of the territory. The IDF said that its troops stationed on the southern edge of Gaza came under fire from snipers and rocket-propelled grenades.

The majority of Rafah is currently controlled by the IDF. However, some Hamas militants continue to have a presence in the tunnels. The initial attack triggered several exchanges of fire between IDF soldiers and Hamas. The Israeli air force also got involved by launching air strikes across Rafah.

Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed that Hamas would pay a “heavy price” for attacking the IDF. It was not long after this statement that Israeli strikes hit the Al-Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, killing three women and one man. The Gaza Civil Defense also reported that at least five people were killed in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The director of the Al Shifa hospital, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, said that at least strikes hit this part of northern Gaza on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Hamas is also claiming that Israel violated the ceasefire agreement, denying that it initially attacked the Israeli soldiers.

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu's office said that Hamas violated the agreement when it returned human remains that did not belong to any of the remaining 13 hostages that are still unaccounted for in Gaza. Also on Tuesday, the IDF released a drone video that they claim proves that Hamas operatives buried a white cloth covering a body in Gaza City before staging the discovery in front of a Red Cross office. The IDF claims that Hamas militants are trying to create a false impression of its attempts to find the bodies of the remaining deceased hostages.

Hamas Postpones Hostage Handover

The ceasefire was approved on October 9, 2025, two full years after Hamas initially came into Israel and took hundreds of civilians hostage. The agreement specified that Hamas release all of the Israeli hostages, both living and dead. As of Tuesday, only 15 of the 28 bodies of the known deceased hostages had been returned.

Now Hamas is saying that it will postpone the handover of a body that was recovered on Tuesday in southern Gaza, blaming the new round of IDF strikes for the delay. Hamas militants also said that further escalation by the IDF would hinder their ability to retrieve and return the bodies.

Israel launched its war on Hamas shortly after the October 2023 terror attacks. Hamas militants and their allies have reportedly killed over 1,200 people. Additionally, 251 hostages were taken to Gaza. According to Gaza's Ministry of Health, the retaliations by Israel have resulted in the deaths of over 68,500 Palestinians and more than 170,000 injuries.

The ceasefire agreement is regarded as one of President Donald Trump's most significant achievements since beginning his second term in the Oval Office. The Trump administration has been intentional about taking steps to stabilize the parameters of the ceasefire, urging both sides to remain in compliance. For example, the White House dispatched several of its leaders to Israel recently, opening an American command center in an effort to monitor the precarious situation.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance insisted on Tuesday that the ceasefire was still holding despite the return of the strikes by both sides of the conflict. Vance said that Tuesday's events were not a threat to the peace and that there will be "skirmishes here and there."

All eyes will continue to be on the Middle East to see if the ceasefire will hold after this setback.

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