Israel pounds Gaza, reimposes blockade as fragile ceasefire breaks down

A statement posted on Telegram by the Gaza Media Office has said the Israeli army has committed 80 violations since 10 October, killing 97 people and injuring another 230.

The office described the attacks as "flagrant and clear violations of the ceasefire agreement and the principles of international humanitarian law".

It added that these violations have been documented across all governorates of Gaza without exception.

A senior Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Sunday to discuss the implementation of the ceasefire agreement signed earlier this month in Sharm el-Sheikh, even as Israel launched new airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, accusing Hamas of breaking the truce.

In a statement, Hamas said that "a delegation from the leadership of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, has arrived in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to follow up on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement with mediators, factions, and Palestinian forces".

The agreement, brokered on 9 October under the framework of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza, appears increasingly fragile as both sides trade accusations of violations.

Gaza's civil defence agency and hospitals said a series of Israeli air strikes across the territory killed at least 45 people on Sunday, updating an earlier toll of 33.

The Israeli military said it had struck dozens of Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip, as both Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the nine-day-old ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump.

"At least 45 people were killed as a result of Israeli air strikes on various areas of the Gaza Strip," Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas authority, told AFP.

Four hospitals in Gaza confirmed the death toll to AFP, saying they had received the dead and wounded.

The Israeli military said Sunday it had resumed enforcing a ceasefire in Gaza after carrying out dozens of strikes on Hamas targets earlier in the day.

"In accordance with the directive of the political echelon, and following a series of significant strikes in response to Hamas' violations, the IDF has begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire," the military said in a statement.

"The IDF will continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation of it."

US Vice President JD Vance has delayed his planned visit to Israel by a day and is now expected to arrive on Tuesday, according to Israel’s public broadcaster.

Axios reported on Saturday, citing Israeli and American officials, that Vance had originally been scheduled to visit on Monday to discuss the ceasefire agreement, which has appeared increasingly fragile following a series of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza today.

The Israeli military said the strikes were launched in response to what it described as “violations” by Hamas, claiming its fighters had fired on Israeli troops. Hamas’s armed wing denied carrying out any such attacks.

Al-Awda Hospital reported that six Palestinians were killed after Israeli forces bombed a tent sheltering displaced people in Abu Salim, west of the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.

Gaza's civil defence agency said a series of Israeli air strikes across the territory killed at least 33 people on Sunday, updating an earlier toll of 21.

The Israeli military said it had struck dozens of Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip, as both Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the nine-day-old ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump.

In a statement moments ago, the Israeli military said it has attacked dozens of "terror targets" across the Gaza Strip today.

"Among the targets attacked were sites for storing weapons, military infrastructure used by terrorists for terror activities, firing positions, terrorist cells, and additional terror infrastructure," it wrote on social media.

It claimed that Hamas had committed a "blatant violation" of the ceasefire agreement, referring to earlier reports that Israeli soldiers had come under fire from fighters belonging to the Palestinian group.

Hamas has denied any involvement in the alleged attack and accused the Israeli government of trying to find a pretext to resume its war on Gaza.

Israel has closed its crossing points into Gaza to aid convoys, a security official told AFP on Sunday, accusing Hamas of breaking a truce.

"The transfer of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip has been halted until further notice, following Hamas's blatant violation of the agreement," the official said.

Israel has launched dozens of airstrikes across Gaza on Sunday after claiming Hamas forces had attacked Israeli troops in Gaza.

Hamas denied any knowledge of the attack and accused Israel of searching for a pretext to resume the war.

(AFP and TNA staff)

Several Israeli news outlets are reporting that the Israeli government has decided to reimpose its blockade on all humanitarian aid entering Gaza "until further notice" in response to what it said were Hamas attacks on Israeli troops earlier today.

We'll bring you more as we get it it.

The Israeli military has put out a statement announcing it is launching a new wave of airstrikes in southern Gaza.

At least 11 Palestinians were killed earlier today after Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded the enclave in response to what it said was a Hamas attack on Israeli troops.

US Vice President JD Vance is expected to travel to Israel for a three-day visit on Tuesday, according to Israeli public broadcaster Kan.

The US number two was originally due in the country on Monday but has reportedly had to postpone the trip.

Gaza's civil defence agency said a series of Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed at least 11 people across the territory, as Israel and Hamas traded blame for violating a ceasefire.

Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for the agency, said six of the victims were killed when an Israeli strike targeted a "group of civilians" in northern Gaza.

(AFP)

An Israeli strike in central Gaza earlier today killed at least three Palestinians and injured several others, a medic at al-Awda Hospital told Al Jazeera.

The strike hit a house in Nuseirat refugee camp.

Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes across Gaza on Sunday morning after the government claimed Hamas attacked Israeli troops.

An Israeli military official has threatened to continue bombing Gaza, hours after warplanes launched several airstrikes against Hamas.

"There is a possibility for more strikes," the official said in an online briefing to journalists.

(AFP and TNA staff)

Iran executed a man convicted of spying for Israel's intelligence agency, the judiciary said Sunday, the latest in a series of executions following a 12-day war in June between the two countries.

"The execution of this spy... was carried out after confirmation by the Supreme Court and the rejection of his pardon request at Qom Prison," Kazem Mousavi, chief justice of Qom province, was quoted as saying by the judiciary's Mizan Online website.

The identity of the man - who was hanged on Saturday in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran - was not immediately revealed.

(AFP and TNA staff)

The UN's office in Yemen said Sunday that 20 of its staff were still being held by Houthi rebels following a raid on their building in Sanaa the day before.

"Five national staff and fifteen international staff remain detained within the compound," said Jean Alam, spokesperson for the UN resident coordinator.

(AFP and TNA staff)

Hamas' armed wing said on Sunday that it has located the body of a captive, which it said will be delivered to Israel on Sunday if field conditions were appropriate.

The group said any Israeli "escalation" would hinder search operations, shortly after Israel said it launched airstrikes and artillery fire at targets in southern Gaza amid disputes over ceasefire violations.

(Reuters and TNA staff)

The Israeli military has issued a statement confirming that it carried out airstrikes in Rafah earlier today, claiming to have come under fire from "terrorists".

"Earlier today, terrorists fired anti-tank missiles and carried out shooting attacks toward IDF forces, which were operating to destroy terror infrastructure in the Rafah area in accordance with the terms of the agreement," it wrote in a post on X.

The IDF began airstrikes with fighter jets and artillery fire in the Rafah area to neutralise the threat, and destroyed several operational shafts and military structures," it said.

Hamas has denied attacking Israeli forces in the Rafah area, which remains under Israeli military occupation. 

Hamas' armed wing said on Sunday that the group is adhering to the ceasefire agreement with Israel and denied launching attacks against Israeli forces in Rafah, where the Israeli military carried out air strikes.

"We reaffirm our full commitment to implement everything that was agreed upon, foremost of which is a ceasefire across all areas of the Gaza Strip," the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.

"We have no knowledge of any incidents or clashes taking place in the Rafah area, as these are red zones under the occupation's control, and contact with the remaining groups of ours there has been cut off since the war resumed in March of this year."

(AFP and TNA staff)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the country's security forces to take "strong action" against targets in Gaza, accusing Hamas of breaching the ceasefire.

"Following a ceasefire violation by Hamas, Prime Minister Netanyahu held consultations with the defence minister and senior security officials and instructed to take strong action against terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

(AFP and TNA staff)

Israel has handed over the bodies of another 15 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, the Gaza health ministry said this morning.

Some of the bodies showed signs of torture, it said.

Israel has now returned 150 bodies since the ceasefire came into effect a little over a week ago.

Israeli liberal opposition figure Yair Golan has called on the government to provide a "decisive response" following reports of a Hamas attack on Israeli troops in Gaza.

"Hamas’s attack in Gaza requires a decisive response. Only in this way are the rules of the game set," he wrote in a post on X.

Israel has carried out airstrikes in northern and southern Gaza in violation of the ceasefire today after officials claimed Hamas had fired on Israeli troops.

At least two Palestinians were killed and others injured in northern Gaza on Sunday when Israel launched airstrikes in violation of the ceasefire agreement, according to Wafa.

Israeli warplanes struck Jabalia refugee camp and Rafah earlier this morning following unverified reports of attacks on Israeli forces by Hamas fighters.

Emergency services were unable to reach the area due to the dangerous conditions, medics told the news agency.

Far-right ministers in the Israeli government have demanded the prime minister resume the war on Gaza following allegations of Hamas attacks on Israeli forces earlier this morning.

"I call on the Prime Minister to order the IDF to fully renew the fighting in the Gaza Strip with full force," extremist national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir wrote on social media.

"War!", Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister and leader of Religious Zionism, wrote on X.

מלחמה!

— בצלאל סמוטריץ' (@bezalelsm) October 19, 2025

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz are due to discuss the escalation in Gaza, according to Israeli media.

Israeli warplanes have launched a string of attacks in Gaza this morning in response to alleged attacks by Hamas on Israeli troops.

Israel on Sunday confirmed that the second of two bodies returned overnight by Hamas was that of a Thai farmworker killed during the 7 October, 2023 attack whose body was taken to Gaza.

The prime minister's office said the military had informed the family of the deceased hostage, Sonthaya Oakkharasri, that their loved one had been returned to Israel and formally identified.

(AFP and TNA staff)

The Israeli military has accused Hamas of carrying out "multiple attacks" against its forces inside Gaza in what it called a "blatant violation" of the ceasefire.

It claimed that its soldiers positioned beyond the "yellow line" had come under rocket-propelled grenade and sniper fire.

Israeli warplanes have carried out a number of air strikes in Rafah this morning following the reported attacks.

Israeli warplanes have in the past hour launched airstrikes in Rafah, Israeli media is reporting.

Israel's public broadcaster Kan said the attacks followed "an exchange of fire" between Hamas and Israeli forces.

A correspondent for Al-Arabiya said at least three air strikes were carried out in southern Gaza.

The Israeli military has not yet commented on the reports.

Israel's two-year assault on Gaza has left more than 70,000 tonnes of unexploded bombs on the ground, Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal told Al Jazeera.

The Israeli military arrested at least 20 Palestinians - including three children - during a number of raids in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, according to Wafa.

This came during incursions in Tubas, Salfit and villages near Ramallah and Qalqilya, the Palestinian news agency said.

Armed Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers and set fire to vehicles near the village of Turmus Ayya, according to local reports.

Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the extremists attacked olive pickers near the town, forcing them to leave. The Israeli military reportedly set up checkpoints around the village - located north of Ramallah - and was searching residents.

Hamas has handed over another two bodies of deceased Israeli captives.

"Israel has received, via the Red Cross, the bodies of two hostages", the Israeli prime minister's office confirmed on Sunday.

One of the bodies was identified as Ronen Engel, who was captured from Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October 2023.

Hamas has rejected accusations by the US that the group was planning "an imminent ceasefire violation" in Gaza by attacking Palestinian civilians.

The US State Department on Saturday said the alleged attack would constitute a "direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement" but did not provide any details.

This came several days after Hamas security forces were filmed executing people it said were members of criminal gangs and Israel-backed militias.

Hamas rejected the claims in a statement on Sunday, saying it is "pursuing militias and holding them accountable according to clear laws, in order to protect residents and property".