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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday (Oct 28) ordered Israeli forces to launch “powerful strikes” in Gaza, escalating tensions under a US-brokered ceasefire.
Israel accused Hamas of firing on its forces in southern Gaza and returning the remains of a hostage, violating the terms of the ceasefire.
Netanyahu described the return of the bodies as a “clear violation” of the agreement, which requires Hamas to hand over the remains of all Israeli hostages without delay.
shooting in rafah
According to an Israeli military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity, Israeli troops opened fire in Rafah and returned fire. The incident underlined how unstable the ceasefire remains, more than two weeks after it went into effect.
Hostage dispute continues
Thirteen bodies of the hostages are believed to still be in Gaza. Hamas said Tuesday it had recovered another body and planned to hand him over later in the day.
An Associated Press videographer in Khan Yunis saw a white body bag being carried through a tunnel by masked militants before being loaded into an ambulance. The identity of the remains was not immediately confirmed.
Both sides have blamed each other for the delay. Hamas has said the widespread destruction will make recovery difficult. Israel says the group is deliberately slowing down the process.
Egyptian forensic teams with heavy equipment are assisting in the search south of Gaza.
The family reopened their son’s grave for the third time
The latest remains were identified as those of Ofir Tzarfati, who was abducted from the Nova music festival during Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023. Israel says it was killed in captivity and recovered earlier in November 2023.
His family said in a statement that they were now “forced to open Ophir’s grave and rebury our son” for the third time.
Israel says it has received 15 dead hostages since the ceasefire began and has returned 195 Palestinian bodies in return. The last 20 surviving hostages had already been handed over during the ceasefire in exchange for approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
deadly west bank raid
Separately, the Israeli military said it killed three Palestinian militants near Jenin in the occupied West Bank early Tuesday.
The men were shot as they were leaving a cave believed to be used by armed groups. The army said troops later launched air strikes to destroy the cave.
Hamas identified the two men as members of its Qassam Brigades. The third was referred to as a “comrade”, but no additional details were released.
Israel says the swift action has weakened terrorist networks in the West Bank. Palestinian officials and human rights groups say many civilians have also been killed and thousands displaced.
heavy gaza toll
More than 68,500 Palestinians have been killed since the war began two years ago, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The ministry does not distinguish combatants from civilians in its numbers, although UN agencies consider its reporting generally reliable.
Israel has disputed the figures but has not provided its own detailed explanation.
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