"DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip Israel's military said Wednesday that the ceasefire was back on in Gaza after it carried out heavy airstrikes overnight across the Palestinian territory that killed 104 people, including 46 children, according to local health officials. The strikes the deadliest since the ceasefire began on Oct. 10 marked the most serious challenge to the tenuous truce to date."
"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the strikes after accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire for handing over body parts this week that Israel said were partial remains of a hostage recovered earlier in the war. That was compounded by the shooting and killing an Israeli soldier during an exchange of gunfire in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza."
"U.S. President Donald Trump, on a trip to Asia, defended the strikes, saying Israel was justified in carrying them out after Hamas killed the Israeli soldier, who also held U.S. citizenship. Hamas denied any involvement in the deadly shooting and in turn accused Israel of "a blatant violation of the ceasefire deal." It also said it would delay handing over the body of another hostage to Israel because of the strikes."
"Trading accusations Netanyahu called the return Monday of body parts a "clear violation" of the ceasefire agreement, which requires Hamas to return all the remains of hostages in Gaza as soon as possible. Israeli officials also accused Hamas of staging the discovery of some of the remains on Monday, sharing a 14-minute, edited video from a military drone in Gaza."
Israeli overnight airstrikes in Gaza killed 104 people, including 46 children, representing the deadliest action since the Oct. 10 ceasefire. Israeli authorities said the strikes responded to what they described as Hamas returning body parts that Israel identified as partial remains of a hostage and to the shooting death of an Israeli soldier in Rafah. Hamas denied responsibility for the soldier's killing, accused Israel of violating the ceasefire, and said it would delay returning another hostage's body. Israeli officials shared an edited drone video alleging staged discoveries and said Hamas used civilians as human shields. Washington was informed and Israel said the strikes were coordinated with the United States. Hamas said it was struggling to locate bodies.
Read at www.npr.org
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]