ISRAEL carried out an airstrike late on Wednesday targeting a Hamas militant in southern Gaza in retaliation for an attack earlier in the day that injured five Israeli soldiers.
AP reported on Thursday that the strike tested the fragile ceasefire, which has mostly held since early October despite repeated claims of violations from both sides.
Hamas condemned the Israeli action in a statement from Khan Younis.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israel received the remains of what could be one of the last hostages held in Gaza and announced plans to allow Palestinians to leave the territory through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Hamas had violated the ceasefire when militants reportedly emerged from a tunnel and attacked Israeli forces in a controlled area. “Hamas violated the ceasefire today,” he said, echoing previous claims that breaches have preceded Israeli retaliatory strikes.
Past airstrikes in late October and November killed 104 and 33 people, respectively, according to local health authorities.
The remains delivered to Israel on Wednesday are under forensic examination.
Partial remains handed over by militants on Tuesday did not match the last two hostages still in Gaza, identified as Israeli Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak. Gvili, an Israeli police officer, was killed while aiding civilians during the October 7 attack.
Rinthalak, a Thai agricultural worker, had been employed at Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the communities hardest hit by the attack.
“The return of all hostages is a key element of the first phase of the ceasefire,” the Israeli government said, noting that Israel has been releasing Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages.
Once the remaining hostages’ remains are returned, the U.S.-backed ceasefire plan is expected to progress to subsequent phases, which include establishing an international stabilisation force, forming a technocratic Palestinian government, and disarming Hamas.
The opening of the Rafah crossing remains complicated by a dispute over return passage. Egypt has stated that the border will only open if movement is permitted in both directions.
Israel, however, has insisted that Palestinians will not be allowed to return until all hostages are accounted for. COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for facilitating aid to Gaza, confirmed that departures would be coordinated with Egypt under European Union supervision and would require Israeli security approval.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has voiced concerns that Israel might use the border to prompt a permanent exodus from Gaza, threatening the Palestinian statehood cause.
More than 100,000 Palestinians displaced since the outbreak of hostilities, including the wounded, have been living in Egypt.
Meanwhile, fighting in Gaza City resulted in the death of a 46-year-old Palestinian man shot in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, which is designated as a safe zone under the ceasefire. Gaza Health Ministry officials reported that over 360 Palestinians have been killed since the truce took effect on October 11.
Since the ceasefire began, 20 living hostages and the remains of 26 others have been returned to Israel. Israel continues to release Palestinian bodies on a ratio of 15 for each hostage.
According to Gaza Health Ministry data, a total of 330 Palestinian remains have been returned, though only a fraction have been identified due to limited DNA testing resources.
The conflict, triggered by the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, claimed approximately 1,200 Israeli lives and saw 251 people taken hostage.
The Gaza Health Ministry estimates the total Palestinian death toll from the war at over 70,100, including a substantial proportion of women and children. - December 4, 2025
