Israel launched a wave of attacks on Gaza after accusing Palestinian militants of attacking its forces across cease-fire lines. Both sides say they are still committed to the truce.
Israel on Sunday launched its heaviest wave of attacks on Gaza since a fragile cease-fire took hold a week ago and said it had temporarily suspended humanitarian aid after accusing Hamas of violating the truce by firing on its soldiers, killing two.
After nightfall, the Israeli military said in a statement that it had “begun the renewed enforcement of the cease-fire” after carrying out a series of significant strikes against Hamas targets and in accordance with a directive from the government.
The deadly flare-up of violence on Sunday and the temporary suspension of aid were the most serious tests yet of the cease-fire, which was negotiated under heavy pressure by the Trump administration and signed with great fanfare by President Trump himself.
The aid was halted because of the intensity of the Israeli strikes, and was expected to resume once the bombing was over, according to an Israeli official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. Israeli officials had initially said that humanitarian aid would be suspended until further notice but later appeared to step back from that decision.
Israel said two of its soldiers were killed early Sunday when Palestinian militants attacked forces who were operating in an area where the Israeli military is allowed to be under the cease-fire agreement. The deaths prompted a strong response.
Both Israel and Hamas have now accused each other of violating the truce after repeated flare-ups of violence over the past three days. But both sides made clear on Sunday that they were still committed to maintaining the truce.top
