Gaza’s civil defence agency says Wednesday overnight air strikes killed at least 50 people in the Palestinian territory, as the Israeli military hit a string of targets after an attack that left a soldier dead.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal called the strikes “a clear and flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement”, though U.S President Donald Trump insisted during a trip to Asia that “nothing” would jeopardise the truce he helped broker.
The civil defence, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, said 22 children were among those killed, as well as women and the elderly, and that around 200 people were wounded.
“The Israeli strikes targeted tents for displaced people, homes and the vicinity of a hospital in the Strip,” Bassal told AFP.
Israel began carrying out air strikes on Tuesday after accusing Hamas of attacking its troops in Gaza and violating the truce.
A military official said soldier Yona Efraim Feldbaum, 37, was killed in Rafah when an engineering vehicle was hit by “enemy fire”.
“A few minutes later, several anti-tank missiles were fired at another armoured vehicle belonging to the troops in the area,” the official said.
Hamas said its fighters had “no connection to the shooting incident in Rafah” and reaffirmed its commitment to the US-backed ceasefire.
Trump defended Israel’s response on Wednesday, but added that “nothing’s going to jeopardise” the truce.
“They killed an Israeli soldier. So the Israelis hit back. And they should hit back,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One during his tour of Asia.
The territory’s main Al-Shifa hospital said one of the strikes hit its backyard.
Hamas announced it would delay handing over the body of another hostage, due on Tuesday, saying Israeli “escalation will hinder the search, excavation and recovery of the bodies”.
Hamas militants took 251 people hostage during its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the war.
A row over the last remaining bodies of deceased hostages has threatened to derail the ceasefire agreement.
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