The ceasefire is shaky: Israel bombs Gaza but then resumes the truce.

BarcelonaIsrael carried out a wave of bombings in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, after its forces and Palestinian militants clashed in the morning near Rafah, in the south of the enclave. The Tel Aviv government also again banned the entry of humanitarian aid. After several bombings throughout Sunday, by night both Israel and Hamas claimed they were reinstating the ceasefire, and US President Donald Trump himself had criticized the temporary breakdown of the truce. "The ceasefire is still in effect," Trump said, noting that he does not believe the Hamas leadership was involved in the events that Israel had denounced as a reason for resuming the bombings.

The trigger was reportedly a clash between Hamas and rival militias financed by Israel in southern Gaza. The Israeli army reportedly intervened to protect these militias, sparking a clash with Hamas, which Israel used as an excuse to resume bombing several locations in the Gaza Strip. The bombings killed at least 36 people, including several children.

Israeli forces primarily targeted Khan Yunis in the south. Columns of smoke could be seen rising from the city from a distance on Sunday. They also bombed the northern town of Jabalia and several targets in the center of the Strip: the doors of a cafe in Deir al-Balah, a building used by the Gaza police in Nuseirat, several tents for displaced people in the coastal area of Al-Mawasi, and a house in the town of Zawaida. Al Jazeera television was broadcasting live.

"Following Hamas's violation of the ceasefire, Prime Minister Netanyahu consulted with the Minister of Defense and the heads of the security establishment and ordered strong action against terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip," sources in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office reported Sunday morning. The threat became a reality a few hours later. However, Israeli government spokesman Shosh Bedrosian assured that the ceasefire remains in effect, but that their soldiers must be allowed to "protect themselves."

Israel accuses Hamas of attacking its troops in Rafah, in the south of the Strip. And, in response, it bombed the city on Sunday morning. Since then, the escalation of the war has continued. in crescendo"Even today, terrorists fired an anti-tank missile and gunfire at Israel Defense Forces troops operating to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement. In response, the Israel Defense Forces began targeting military structures used for terrorist activity in the area," the Israeli military said in a statement this morning. It also warned that "these terrorist actions constitute a flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement" and that Israel "will respond firmly." The response came in the afternoon.

The Israeli military has stated that it has attacked "dozens of terrorist targets." For example, "weapons storage facilities," "firing zones," "terrorist cells," and "six kilometers of underground infrastructure." According to local sources, six members of Hamas's al-Qassam Brigades were killed in the offensive, including Yahya al-Mabhouh, commander of the elite Jabalia Battalion unit. Members of an entire family with young children were also killed.

Meanwhile, Israel has again suspended the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza until further notice, according to several Israeli media reports. The ceasefire agreement stipulated that Israel was to allow 600 trucks into the Strip daily, but the Netanyahu government had halved that figure, arguing that Hamas was also violating the agreement by not yet handing over the bodies of all the deceased hostages. Likewise, Israel has so far refused to reopen the important Rafah border crossing.

Hamas's response

However, Hamas asserted this Sunday that it remains committed to the ceasefire and accused Israel of violating it. "The Zionist occupation continues to violate the agreement and seek baseless pretexts to justify its crimes," Hamas leader Izzat al-Rishq said in a statement posted on the official Telegram channel immediately after the first Israeli airstrike.

Hours later, Hamas released another statement in which it completely disassociated itself from the clashes in Rafah: "We are not aware of any clashes taking place in the Rafah area, as these are red zones under the control of [Israeli] personnel. Contact with our groups there was cut off last year. We have no connection with any events taking place in these areas, and we are unable to communicate with any of our fighters there, if any are still alive."

However, a source from Hamas's armed wing told Efe news agency that the group had launched an operation in Rafah to eliminate Yasser Abu Shabab, leader of the rival militia known as the Popular Forces. However, Israeli soldiers intervened to support Shabab, triggering crossfire and causing the explosion of an Israeli bulldozer.

Another military source explained that Hamas militants attacked Israeli forces beyond the so-called yellow line, the imaginary line behind which Israeli troops remain deployed after their withdrawal from the main cities in the Strip. In the attack, the militants reportedly used grenade launchers and a sniper also fired, according to the same source.

This Saturday, the United States government warned that it had "credible information" indicating that Hamas was planning "an imminent violation" of the ceasefire. This morning, the Islamist group rejected this accusation and blamed Israel for arming and financing these other militias, which it said were involved in "murders, kidnappings, robberies of aid trucks, and thefts against civilians."

Hamas has confirmed that Gaza police officers, "with broad civilian and popular support," are pursuing these militias to hold them accountable "in accordance with clear legal mechanisms, with the aim of protecting citizens and preserving public and private property."

Barely a day after the ceasefire, Hamas militants began cracking down on all those clans and militias that allegedly collaborated with Israel throughout the two-year war offensive, including with public executions of alleged collaborators, images of which were made.

Settlers and leaders of the religious Zionist parties that are part of the governing coalition in Israel demanded this Sunday that Israeli troops resume their war offensive against the Gaza Strip, following the exchange of fire in Rafah. "I encourage Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] to order the Israel Defense Forces to fully resume fighting in the Gaza Strip with all their strength," wrote National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who was previously convicted of inciting hatred against Palestinians, on the social network X. For his part, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich summed up in one word what the Israeli government must do from now on: "War," he wrote on his X account.