Netanyahu orders ‘immediate, powerful’ Gaza strikes despite ceasefire, killing at least 18 Palestinians

GAZA (MNTV) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday ordered the army to carry out “immediate, powerful strikes” across the Gaza Strip despite a ceasefire agreement, killing at least 18 Palestinians and injuring dozens more, according to medical and local sources.

The Israeli leader also approved expanding the territory under army control behind the so-called “yellow line,” the withdrawal zone established under the truce, stretching from southern North Gaza Governorate to the outskirts of Rafah.

Public broadcaster KAN reported that the move was coordinated with senior US officials, though Netanyahu’s office declined to comment.

Airstrikes and artillery fire hit several areas of the enclave on Tuesday, marking a significant escalation since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10 under US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan.

In Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood, four people were killed and nine injured when an Israeli airstrike hit a home. Three others were killed in al-Yarmouk, and a child died in an attack on an apartment on Al-Jalaa Street.

Another strike targeted the Al-Shati refugee camp, while artillery shelling hit areas east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

In Beit Lahia, three Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces bombed a school sheltering displaced families, and in southern Gaza, five more people died after a vehicle was struck in Khan Younis. Two others were killed in the Al-Amal neighborhood of the same city.

Eyewitnesses reported that the strikes occurred within the “yellow line,” the zone where Israeli forces had withdrawn under the ceasefire deal.

Missiles also struck near the Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City.

Hamas denies ceasefire breach

The escalation followed reports that Israeli forces came under sniper and anti-tank fire in Rafah, which Hamas denied, accusing Israel of fabricating violations to justify renewed attacks.

“Any Israeli escalation will hinder search and excavation operations and the retrieval of bodies, which will delay the return of the occupiers’ dead,” the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, warned in a statement.

A senior US official told Axios that Washington did not view the incident as a “material breach” of the ceasefire and urged Israel to avoid actions that could “push the truce to the brink of collapse.”

Shortly afterward, Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting attended by Defense Minister Israel Katz, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, and Shin Bet Director David Zini, during which the army presented “a package of possible responses,” including the resumption of airstrikes and the expansion of occupied areas.

The ceasefire, in place since Oct. 10, is part of Trump’s 20-point plan that includes a phased release of Israeli captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, as well as a framework for Gaza’s reconstruction under a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

Israel’s war on Gaza, which began in October 2023, has so far killed more than 68,500 people — mostly women and children — and injured over 170,000 others.