Israel attacks Gaza, blames Hamas for threatening ceasefire

Gaza’s nine-day-old ceasefire came under strain on Sunday after the Israeli army said it launched air strikes in the territory’s south in response to attacks it claimed were carried out by Hamas against its forces.

Hamas, however, maintained it was adhering to the truce, with one official accusing Israel of devising “pretexts” to resume its own attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed security forces to take “strong action against terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip”, his office said in a statement, accusing Hamas of “a ceasefire violation”.

The uneasy truce, brokered by US President Donald Trump, brought to a halt more than two years of devastating war between Israel and Hamas.

The deal established the outline for hostage and prisoner exchanges and was proposed alongside an ambitious road map for Gaza’s future but has faced challenges in implementation.

“Earlier today, terrorists fired anti-tank missiles and opened fire on IDF [army] forces operating to destroy terrorist infrastructure in the Rafah area in accordance with the terms of the agreement,” the military said in a statement.