In a major test to the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Israeli officials on Sunday said it launched a wave of attacks in Gaza after Hamas militants allegedly fired on Israeli soldiers.
Israel's military said in a statement Oct. 19 that it launched "a series of strikes" against Hamas in southern Gaza, several hours after it announced it had targeted militants in the Rafah area in response to an attack on Israeli soldiers. The Israel Defense Forces have said the latest strikes targeted Hamas militants, as well as tunnels and military buildings.
The moves in Gaza comes shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of major "action" against Hamas, accusing the militant group of violating the ceasefire agreement that has been in effect for less than two weeks.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said Oct. 19 that Israeli attacks had killed at least eight people in the last 24 hours, Reuters reported.
Hamas has reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire agreement following the strikes, according to Reuters, and said it was unaware of any incidents or clashes in Rafah and has not been in contact with groups there since March.
TVNL Comment: We predicted that Israel would resume its attacks on Gaza as soon as the hostaages were returned. We knew that Israel would blame Hamas for breaking the cease fire. And so it is.