Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he has ordered the army to immediately carry out “powerful strikes” in Gaza, putting new pressure on the tenuous US-brokered ceasefire.
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Associated Press reporters and witnesses heard tank fire and saw explosions in various parts of Gaza, including in Gaza City and Deir al-Balah.
The order from Netanyahu came after an Israeli official said Hamas had fired on its forces in southern Gaza and after the Palestinian militant group handed over body parts on Monday that Israel said were the partial remains of a hostage recovered earlier in the war.
Netanyahu called the return of these body parts a “clear violation” of the ceasefire agreement, which requires Hamas to return the remaining hostages in Gaza as soon as possible.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that Hamas would pay a “heavy price for attacking Israeli soldiers in Gaza and for violating the agreement on returning the deceased hostages.”
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An AP reporter in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah heard tanks firing from an area controlled by the Israeli army. And in Gaza City, two health officials reported strikes, including near the Shifa hospital.