Israel claims ceasefire restored after killing more than 100 Palestinians in intense overnight airstrikes

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s military said Wednesday that a ceasefire in Gaza had been restored after intense airstrikes were carried out overnight across the Palestinian territory that killed 104 people, including 46 children, according to local health officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the attacks after accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire by handing over body parts this week that Israel said were partial remains of a hostage recovered earlier in the war. Added to this was the shooting and death of an Israeli soldier during an exchange of fire in Rafah, the southernmost city of Gaza.

US President Donald Trump, on a trip to Asia, defended the attacks, saying Israel was justified in carrying them out after Hamas killed the Israeli soldier, who also had US citizenship.

Hamas denied any involvement in the deadly shooting and in turn accused Israel of “a flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement.” He also said he would delay delivering the body of another hostage to Israel because of the attacks.

Commercial accusations

Eyad baba/News via gettty imagesages

Netanyahu called Monday’s return of body parts a “clear violation” of the ceasefire agreement, which requires Hamas to return all remains of hostages in Gaza as soon as possible. Israeli officials also accused Hamas of orchestrating the discovery of some of the remains on Monday, sharing an edited 14-minute video from a military drone in Gaza.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said Hamas was responsible for the consequences of its violation of the ceasefire and attributed the high death toll from the attacks to the militant group using civilians as human shields.

Marmorstein said Washington was informed about the attacks and that they were carried out in full coordination with the United States.

Hamas responded in kind on Wednesday, saying the Israeli strikes reveal “a clear Israeli intention to undermine the ceasefire agreement and impose new realities by force.” The group also said in a statement that the United States is offering Netanyahu “political cover” to continue his aggression in Gaza.

Hamas has said it is struggling to locate the hostages’ bodies amid the vast destruction in Gaza, while Israel has accused the militant group of deliberately delaying their return.

There are still 13 hostage bodies in Gaza and their slow return is complicating efforts to move to the next phases of the ceasefire, which address even thornier issues, including disarming Hamas, deploying an international security force in Gaza and deciding who will govern the territory.

Marmorstein said Hamas was “trying to do everything possible to prevent” disarmament.

Trump defends Israel

Evan Vucci via News

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Wednesday that Israel “should hit back” when its troops come under attack.

But he said he is still confident that the ceasefire will withstand the escalation of violence because “Hamas is a very small part of the overall peace in the Middle East. And they have to behave.”

Otherwise, they will be “terminated,” Trump added.

How the new strikes broke out

Fadel Senna/News via Getty Images

An Israeli military official said Wednesday that the soldier in Rafah, identified as Master Sgt. Yona Efraim Feldbaum, 37, was killed Tuesday by “enemy fire” directed at his vehicle.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential military operations, said Israeli troops in the area came under fire numerous times on Tuesday as they worked to destroy tunnels and Hamas infrastructure.

Hamas insisted it was not involved in the Rafah shooting, reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire and called on mediators to pressure Israel to stop it.

The Israeli military said in a statement Wednesday that it carried out “precise strikes against dozens of Hamas targets” throughout the Gaza Strip overnight, including individuals, observation posts, weapons depots, mortar firing positions and tunnels.

Among those killed were three who held the rank of battalion commander, two deputy battalion commanders and 16 company commanders, according to the Israeli military. They included militants involved in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 that started the war, including Nukhba company commander Hatem Maher Mousa Qudra, who led the attack on Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, according to the statement.

The Israeli military said it would continue to “respond firmly and act decisively to eliminate any threat to the State of Israel.”

Death toll rises in Gaza

Omar Al-Qatta/News via Getty Images

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported a total of 104 dead in the overnight attacks and said 253 people were also wounded, most of them women and children. He said that among the dead there are 46 children.

Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, said 45 people, including 20 children, were in critical condition at the hospital. He said the hospital received 21 more bodies, including seven women and six children.

Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah reported at least 10 bodies, including three women and six children. In southern Gaza, the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 20 bodies after five Israeli strikes in the area, including 13 children and two women.

Elsewhere in central Gaza, Al-Awda Hospital said it received 30 bodies, including 14 children.

Funeral prayers in Gaza hospitals

Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images

Ambulances and small trucks carrying bodies jammed hospital entrances overnight across Gaza. In Deir Al-Balah, bodies were carried on stretchers and others on mattresses. A man entered the hospital with the body of a small child.

“They hit right next to us and we saw all the rubble on top of us and our young people,” said a woman standing outside the hospital.

At dawn, displaced Palestinians in the camp removed the remains of a destroyed tent next to the crater where the attack occurred. They found the body of a little boy and wrapped him in a blanket.

“What kind of ceasefire is this?” said Amna Qrinawi.

At Al-Awda Hospital, dozens of people gathered around dozens of bodies wrapped in white shrouds for funeral prayers. Family members cried as they said goodbye to their loved ones.

Yehya Eid, who said he lost his brother and nephews, wept over a small body wrapped in a bloody white shroud outside the hospital. He said the strike came without warning.

“These are children who were murdered. What did they do wrong? Did they fight in the war?” -Eid asked.

Funeral prayers were also held in front of the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

“These are massacres,” said Haneen Mteir, who lost her sister and nephews. “They burned the children while they slept.”

Najwa Erian said she was lucky her children survived when their building collapsed in one of the attacks.

“It was thanks to the young people from the neighborhood who came to see us and were able to save the children,” he said.

More than 68,500 Palestinians died in the two-year war in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry maintains detailed records of victims that are generally considered reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. Israel has questioned them without paying its own price.

___

Bok reported from Tokyo. News writers Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, and Julia Frankel, Josef Federman and Renata Brito in Jerusalem contributed to this report.