A fragile ceasefire in Gaza faced its most serious test after an attack killed two Israeli soldiers and Israel launched a wave of strikes that Gazan hospitals said killed at least 45 Palestinians. Israel blamed Hamas for the attack on its forces, while Hamas denied responsibility.
The Israeli military carried out strikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including in southern and central areas. An Israeli security official also announced a suspension of aid deliveries. The pause did not end the truce altogether: US pressure appeared to help keep the agreement in place, and Israel reopened crossings for aid the following day.
The renewed fighting came one week after US President Donald Trump visited Israel following agreement on a ceasefire and an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The violence exposed how many elements of the arrangement remained unsettled, including the future governance of Gaza, the status of Hamas and the timetable for further Israeli withdrawal.
Israel's forces still controlled more than half of the territory. The military began placing yellow blocks to mark the line to which its troops had withdrawn. Residents reported confusion about the boundary, which had previously been visible mainly on maps, and several deadly incidents occurred when Palestinians crossed it. Israel said its troops fired when people posed an immediate threat.
In one incident before Sunday's escalation, 11 members of the Abu Shaaban family, including seven children, were killed on the outskirts of Gaza City. The Israeli military said a vehicle approached the withdrawal line despite warning shots. Later tank fire near Shejaiya was reported to have killed three more Palestinians in two incidents.
Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry said 57 bodies reached hospitals over a 24-hour period, including 12 recovered from rubble and 45 people it said were killed by direct Israeli targeting. It also reported 158 injured. The figures came from an authority controlled by one party to the conflict and could not be independently checked within the supplied evidence.
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to Israel as mediators sought to preserve the ceasefire and move toward its second phase. That phase was expected to address an interim administration, an international stabilization force, further Israeli withdrawals and the disarmament of Hamas. Hamas negotiators were also meeting Egyptian mediators and Palestinian factions in Cairo.
Aid access remained another pressure point. Israel reopened two crossings, but Rafah stayed closed to people. A UN Palestinian refugee agency official said the volume entering Gaza remained far below what was needed and cited bureaucratic obstacles. The combination of renewed combat, disputed responsibility and restricted relief showed that maintaining the ceasefire would require continued mediation as well as restraint on the ground.
