ISRAEL’S military announced on Wednesday that a ceasefire in Gaza was restored following overnight airstrikes that killed at least 104 people, including 66 women and children, local health officials said.
AP reported on Thursday that the strikes, the deadliest since the truce began on October 10, underscored the fragility of the agreement and came after an Israeli soldier was shot and killed in Rafah.
The soldier, identified as Master Sergeant Yona Efraim Feldbaum, 37, was killed by “enemy fire” targeting his vehicle, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Israeli army said it conducted the strikes in retaliation for the attack, hitting dozens of Hamas targets including observation posts, weapons depots, tunnels, and senior militants linked to the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on Israel.
“They burned children while they were asleep,” said Haneen Mteir, whose sister and nephews were killed in a strike in Khan Younis.
Palestinian health authorities reported at least 253 people were wounded, most of them women and children. Hospitals in Gaza were overwhelmed, with bodies arriving in ambulances and small trucks, often carried on stretchers or mattresses.
Hamas denied involvement in the Rafah attack and accused Israel of “a blatant violation of the ceasefire deal,” saying it would delay handing over the body of another hostage in response to the strikes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of violating ceasefire provisions concerning the handover of remains.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said Hamas was responsible for civilian casualties, alleging the group used non-combatants as human shields.
The military said it targeted 21 senior Hamas commanders, including Hatem Maher Mousa Qudra, responsible for the Ein Hashlosha Kibbutz attack in 2023.
U.S. President Donald Trump, travelling in Asia, defended the strikes, asserting Israel “should hit back” after its troops are attacked, but expressed confidence that the ceasefire could endure, noting “Hamas is a very small part of the overall Middle East peace. And they have to behave.”
The Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, co-mediator of the ceasefire along with the U.S. and Egypt, said the violation came from the “Palestinian party,” though it was unclear if the gunmen were directly affiliated with Hamas.
The ceasefire agreement requires Hamas to return all hostage remains, a process complicated by widespread destruction in Gaza.
Thirteen bodies remain in the territory, delaying progress toward further phases of the truce, including disarmament, international security deployment, and governance decisions. - October 30, 2025
