Israel says it has resumed enforcement of ceasefire after wave of airstrikes on Gaza – Middle East crisis live
IDF says ‘significant strikes’ were in response to Hamas violations
Summary
The fragile ceasefire in Gaza faced its first big test Sunday as an Israeli security official said the transfer of aid into the territory was halted “until further notice” after a Hamas ceasefire violation, and Israeli forces launched a wave of strikes.
Gaza’s civil defence agency and hospitals said a series of Israeli airstrikes across the territory killed at least 45 people on Sunday, updating an earlier toll of 33, according to AFP.
The Israeli military said it had struck dozens of Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip, as Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the nine-day-old ceasefire.
The Israeli military later said it had begun resuming enforcement of the Gaza ceasefire, signalling an end to strikes on the territory that it said were carried out in response to earlier attacks on its forces on Sunday.
Hamas claimed to have located the body of another Israeli hostage, saying it intends to hand over the remains to Israel if “field conditions allow”. The group warned that continued airstrikes and shelling would make such transfers impossible. The IDF claims that Hamas withholding bodies of hostages violates the ceasefire agreement.
Hamas dismissed a statement from the US state department that accused the group of planning an imminent attack in Gaza, calling the allegation “false” and “aligned with misleading Israeli propaganda”.
The Israeli military said two soldiers were killed in combat in southern Gaza on Sunday, AFP reported.
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The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) is denouncing Israel for launching airstrikes on Gaza despite a shaky ceasefire.
“Since the start of the ceasefire, the Netanyahu regime has been itching to fully restart the genocide in Gaza,” Cair said in a statement. “The cruel and unnecessary mass bombing of civilians across Gaza constitutes a blatant violation of President Trump’s ceasefire agreement and a resumption of the genocide. President Trump must rein in the Israeli occupation forces and stop sending American weapons and American taxpayer dollars to fund Israel’s war machine.”
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Gaza’s civil defence agency and hospitals said a series of Israeli airstrikes across the territory killed at least 45 people on Sunday, updating an earlier toll of 33, according to AFP.
The Israeli military said it had struck dozens of Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip, as Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the nine-day-old ceasefire brokered by Trump.
“At least 45 people were killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes on various areas of the Gaza Strip,” Mahmud Bassal, spokesperson 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.
Earlier, Bassal detailed several of the strikes.
He said six people were killed when an Israeli strike targeted a “group of civilians” in Zuwaida town in central Gaza. Six other people, including children, were killed and 13 others injured in two separate strikes near Nuseirat in central Gaza, Bassal said.
A woman and two children were killed when a drone strike hit a tent housing displaced people near Asdaa City, north of Khan Younis. Two people, including a journalist, were killed and several others injured in an Israeli strike in the western part of Zuwaida.
In another attack, two people were killed and several injured when an Israeli strike hit a tent in the Al-Ahli Club area in Nuseirat, Bassal said. Two more people were killed in an Israeli airstrike in eastern Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, he added.
One individual was killed in a strike on an apartment in a building in western Gaza City, the civil defence agency said. The others succumbed later on Sunday to injuries incurred in these strikes, Bassal said.
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Here is some footage of the aftermath of airstrikes Israel carried out on Sunday in Gaza in response to the ceasefire “violations” it accused Hamas of committing.
The Israeli military said it had begun resuming enforcement of the Gaza ceasefire after it says it was “violated” by Hamas, signaling an end to strikes on the territory that it said were carried out in response to earlier attacks on its forces on Sunday, Reuters reported.
“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.
It adds: “The IDF will continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation of it.”
Updated
Gaza’s civil defence agency said a series of Israeli airstrikes 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 the US president, Donald Trump.
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The fragile ceasefire in Gaza faced its first major test Sunday as an Israeli security official said the transfer of aid into the territory was halted “until further notice” after a Hamas ceasefire violation, and Israeli forces launched a wave of strikes, according to the Associated Press.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement on the halt in aid, a little over a week since the start of the US-proposed ceasefire aimed at ending two years of war.
Israel’s military earlier Sunday said its troops came under fire from Hamas militants in southern Gaza, and later said two soldiers were killed there.
Israel’s military said then it struck dozens of what it called Hamas targets. Health officials said at least 29 Palestinians were killed across Gaza, including children.
A senior Egyptian official involved in the ceasefire negotiations said “round-the-clock” contacts were under way to de-escalate the situation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to speak to reporters.
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The Israeli military said two soldiers were killed in combat in southern Gaza on Sunday, as it carried out a series of strikes in the area, accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire, AFP reported.
Major Yaniv Kula, 26, and staff sergeant Itay Yavetz, 21, “fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip,” the military said, the first Israeli fatalities since the ceasefire took effect on October 10.
Here are the latest photos coming through the wires after Israel launched strikes in the city of Khan Younis on the southern Gaza Strip.
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Israel halts supply of aid into Gaza
Israel has closed its crossing points into Gaza to aid convoys, a security official told AFP on Sunday after the government accused Hamas of violating a ceasefire agreement.
The ceasefire agreement had committed Israel to let in 600 trucks carrying aid into Gaza every day.
It had halved the amount as it accused Hamas of violating the agreement by failing to return all the deceased hostages in time.
It has so far also refused to reopen the key border crossing of Rafah, the only access point that is not exclusively controlled by Israel.
A famine was declared in and around Gaza City by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) in August after a previous blockade of aid deliveries.
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IDF confirms it has begun ‘wave of attacks’ in southern Gaza
The Israeli military says it has launched a wave of airstrikes on southern Gaza as the fragile ceasefire comes close to total collapse.
The army said ‘massive and extensive wave of strikes’ were aimed at dozens of Hamas targets.
In response to the blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement earlier today, the IDF (military) has begun a series of strikes against Hamas terror targets in the southern Gaza Strip,” it said in a statement.
Updated
Afternoon summary
The fragile Gaza ceasefire edged close to total collapse on Sunday amid renewed Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, including in the cities of Rafah and Beit Lahia, which killed and injured several Palestinians. Israel says the attacks were a response to Hamas gunfire and rocket-propelled grenade fire against its troops in Rafah. Hamas said that it was unaware of any incidents or clashes in Rafah, and accused Israel of a deliberate escalation. The events marked the biggest test yet of the US-brokered ceasefire.
Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered “firm action” across Gaza in response to the clashes, meeting defence minister Israel Katz and intelligence chiefs to instruct strikes on “terror targets”. The IDF said its forces were dismantling tunnels and “eliminating threats” in Rafah, describing today’s violence as a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 11 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the territory on Sunday, including six in the north, as Israel said it may carry out further strikes after attacks on its troops in Rafah and Beit Lahia.
Israel’s defence minister warned Hamas would “pay a heavy price” for any further ceasefire breaches, saying Israeli troops would respond “increasingly severely” if attacks continue. His comments come amid signs that parts of the Israeli government are losing patience with the truce.
Hamas claimed to have located the body of another Israeli hostage, saying it intends to hand over the remains to Israel if “field conditions allow.” The group warned that continued airstrikes and shelling would make such transfers impossible. The IDF claim that Hamas withholding bodies of hostages violates the ceasefire agreement.
Senior Israeli politicians have voiced growing scepticism about the ceasefire’s future. Hardline ministers Amichai Chikli and Avi Dichter said Israel cannot coexist with Hamas, while opposition leader Yair Golan urged a “decisive response,” accusing Netanyahu’s government of “failing to set new rules of the game.”
Hamas dismissed a statement from the US state department that accused the group of planning an imminent attack in Gaza, calling the allegation “false” and “aligned with misleading Israeli propaganda.”
The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will stay closed “until further notice”, Israel has said, after the Palestinian embassy in Cairo said the territory’s sole gateway to the outside world – and key to bringing aid into the destroyed territory – would reopen on Monday.
Hamas rejects US claim of planned Gaza ceasefire violation as “Israeli propaganda”
Hamas has dismissed a statement from the US state department that accused the group of planning an imminent attack in Gaza, calling the allegation “false” and “aligned with misleading Israeli propaganda.”
In a statement on Sunday, Hamas said: “The US allegations are false and fully align with the misleading Israeli propaganda and provide cover for the continuation of the occupation’s crimes and organised aggression against our people in Gaza.”
The comments came after the state department said late on Saturday it had obtained “credible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the people of Gaza.” The US warned that “should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire,” without providing details of the alleged plan.
Hamas rejected the accusation, calling on Washington to “stop repeating the occupation’s misleading narrative and focus on curbing its repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
The militant group said: “The facts on the ground reveal the exact opposite, as the occupation authorities are the ones who formed, armed, and funded criminal gangs that carried out killings, kidnappings, theft of aid trucks, and assaults against Palestinian civilians … confirming the occupation’s involvement in spreading chaos and disrupting security.”
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Gaza civil defence says at least 11 killed in Israeli strikes
Gaza’s civil defence agency said on Sunday that at least 11 people were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes across the territory, as both sides accused each other of breaching the ceasefire.
Mahmud Bassal, a spokesperson for the agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said six people were killed when an Israeli strike hit a group of civilians in northern Gaza.
The Israeli military told AFP it was checking reports of casualties. Earlier, a military official said Israel may carry out additional strikes after its forces targeted militants in Rafah and Beit Lahia, after three separate attacks on Israeli troops.
Israeli military says further Gaza strikes possible
An Israeli military official has said that more airstrikes could be carried out in Gaza, after attacks earlier in the day in Rafah in the south and Beit Lahia in the north, according to AFP.
“There is a possibility for more strikes,” the official told reporters during an online briefing, after the army said it had targeted militants responsible for three separate attacks on Israeli forces.
Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel
Iran has executed a man convicted of spying for Israel’s intelligence agency, according to the country’s judiciary, in what officials described as the latest in a series of executions after the June war between Iran and Israel, AFP reports.
The judiciary’s Mizan online news agency quoted Kazem Mousavi, the chief justice of Qom province, as saying: “The execution of this spy was carried out after confirmation by the supreme court and the rejection of his pardon request at Qom Prison.”
The man, whose identity was not disclosed, was hanged on Saturday in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran. Authorities said he had been in contact with Israeli intelligence since October 2023, was arrested early the following year, and had confessed to sharing confidential information online.
Iran, which conducts executions by hanging, is the world’s second most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups including Amnesty International.
Israel warns Hamas will “pay a heavy price” for any ceasefire violations
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, has warned that Israeli forces will respond forcefully if Hamas attacks troops in Gaza in breach of the ongoing ceasefire.
“Hamas will pay a heavy price for every shot and every breach of the ceasefire,” Katz said in a statement. “If the message is not understood, our response will become increasingly severe.”
Key event
The Gaza health ministry has released photographs it says show “violations and signs of torture” on the bodies of Palestinians whose remains were recently returned by Israel.
The graphic images, seen by the Guardian, show bodies with plastic restraints visible around their wrists, consistent with being bound before death. Photos depict prisoners who appear beaten, bruised and blindfolded, with fabric still wrapped tightly around the heads of some of the deceased.
The release of the photographs follows earlier Guardian reporting in which Palestinians freed from Israeli prisons described severe mistreatment, including beatings, binding and exposure to extreme conditions during detention:
Hamas says it has located another hostage’s body, warns Israeli strikes could hinder handover
Hamas’s armed wing says it has found the body of another Israeli hostage, which it plans to hand over to Israel on Sunday if “conditions allow,” according to Reuters.
The group warned that any Israeli escalation could disrupt recovery efforts, after Israel confirmed it had carried out airstrikes and artillery fire on targets in southern Gaza amid renewed disputes over ceasefire violations.
Thaslima Begum is an award-winning journalist with a focus on women, conflict and human rights
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Former hostages Gali and Ziv Berman are pictured returning home at kibbutz Beit Guvrin on Sunday.
The 28-year-old twins, who were taken from kibbutz Kfar Aza near the Gaza border, were held separately and said they were completely cut off from the outside world throughout their time in captivity before their release on Monday as part of the ceasefire.
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Hamas armed wing says it is unaware of clashes in Gaza's Rafah
Hamas armed wing has said that it was unaware of any incidents or clashes in Gaza’s Rafah, shortly after Israel said it carried out airstrikes in the area to remove what it deemed a threat after “terrorists” opened fire on troops, Reuters reports.
The Palestinian group reiterated it is committed to all that has been agreed upon including a ceasefire in all areas in Gaza.
UN relief chief Tom Fletcher has posted footage on social media from his visit to Khan Younis, showing widespread devastation following Israel’s military campaign in the southern Gaza city.
Driving on the road from Gaza City to Khan Younis yesterday. pic.twitter.com/gDGGIm5VM1
— Tom Fletcher (@UNReliefChief) October 19, 2025
Fletcher’s video follows a week-long mission across Egypt, the Rafah crossing and central Gaza – documented in a diary published by the Observer.
Writing in his account, Fletcher described the scale of devastation as “staggering,” adding: “Nothing prepares you for Gaza – the scale of destruction, the density of loss, the quiet resilience in people’s eyes.”
He said that despite the ceasefire, “every inch tells a story of loss … Gaza is a wasteland. Roads choked with rubble.”
Fletcher, who has been coordinating aid convoys through Egypt, urged world leaders to keep the humanitarian lifeline open: “We owe it to those who have endured so much to move beyond the cycle of cruelty, terror and revenge.”
Israeli politicians cast doubt on government’s commitment to ceasefire
Following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza earlier today, more senior ministers have made remarks casting doubt on the government’s commitment to the ceasefire deal.
Amichai Chikli, Israel’s diaspora affairs minister and a vocal hardliner, said: “As long as Hamas exists, there will be war.”
Another cabinet member, Avi Dichter, described the situation as “difficult and complex”, accusing Hamas of violating the truce on the assumption that “Israel will not resume fighting.”
He added: “The moment all the living hostages are in our hands, the conditions have changed. Israel will not give up on disarming Hamas.”
From the opposition, Yair Golan, leader of the centre left Democrats party, also called for action, saying on social media: “Hamas’s attack in Gaza requires a decisive response. Only in this way are the rules of the game set.”
Netanyahu orders ‘firm action’ in Gaza after attacks in Rafah
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed Israel’s security chiefs to “take firm action against terror targets in the Gaza Strip” after attacks in Rafah today.
Netanyahu issued the order during a meeting with defence minister Israel Katz and the heads of the Shin Bet, the domestic security agency, and the Mossad (foreign intelligence), the office said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that Palestinian militants fired RPGs and sniper rounds at troops operating in the Rafah area of southern Gaza. In response, the IDF said it carried out a series of airstrikes on “terror targets” in the enclave.
Israel army confirms air strikes in Rafah
The IDF has issued a full statement on today’s attacks in Rafah:
Earlier today, terrorists fired an anti-tank missile and gunfire toward IDF troops operating to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the Rafah area, in southern Gaza, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement.
In response, the IDF has begun striking in the area to eliminate the threat and dismantle tunnel shafts and military structures used for terrorist activity.
These terrorist actions constitute a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement, and the IDF will respond firmly.
The statement did not mention the reported attacks in Jabalia and other parts of southern Gaza.
Freed Israeli hostage David Cunio received a hero’s welcome in the city of Yavne, where residents lined the streets waving Israeli and American flags as he was driven from hospital to rejoin his family, The Times of Israel reports.
Cunio, who was abducted from kibbutz Nir Oz with his family during the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack, leaned out of the car window to shake hands and thank supporters as music played and people applauded.
His wife, Sharon Alony Cunio, and their twin daughters were released from captivity in November 2023 and have been living with her parents in Yavne since.
Israel returns 15 Palestinian bodies to Gaza
The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza says it has received the bodies of 15 deceased Palestinian prisoners released on Saturday by Israel through the International Committee of the Red Cross, bringing the total number of bodies returned to 150.
In a statement, the ministry said its medical teams were following identification and examination procedures before handing the bodies over to families.
The ministry added “that some of the bodies show signs of abuse”, including beatings, handcuffing and blindfolding.
So far, the identities of 25 of the returned prisoners have been confirmed by relatives, according to the ministry.
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Far-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir calls on Netanyahu to resume 'maximum force' attacks on Gaza
Far-right extremist Israeli cabinet minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called on Benjamin Netanyahu to resume attacks in Gaza “with maximum force”.
Speaking on social media, Ben-Gvir said: “I call on the prime minister to order the IDF to fully resume combat in the Gaza Strip with maximum force.
“The false illusions that Hamas will change its ways, or even adhere to the agreement it signed, are proving, as expected, to be dangerous to our security.
“The Nazi terrorist organization must be completely destroyed – and the sooner, the better.”
Ben-Gvir has past convictions for supporting terrorism.
Netanyahu said Israel’s Gaza war ‘reaching its conclusion’ before morning strikes on Rafah
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that Israel’s war in Gaza is “reaching its conclusion,” announcing plans to give the conflict an official name: “The War of Revival.”
Netanyahu made the remarks before Israeli airstrikes hit Rafah on Sunday morning.
The Times of Israel reports that there was opposition to renaming the war from some hostages’ families and a few members of the cabinet.
Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said: “At the end of two consecutive years of fighting, we remember how we began. We rose from the terrible disaster of 7 October.”
He added that Israel would soon award military decorations to soldiers who fought in the campaign – a step traditionally marking the end of a war. Israeli media reported that Netanyahu left the meeting abruptly following news of the attacks across Gaza.
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Two Palestinians killed as Israel strikes northern Gaza city of Jabalia
Israeli military airstrikes have also targeted areas in Jabalia, a city in northern Gaza, according to Israeli media, as attacks continue to escalate despite a week-old ceasefire.
Local news agency Wafa reported that at least two Palestinians were killed and several others injured in a strike east of Jabalia. Emergency crews have been unable to reach the site after Israel designated the area a “high-risk zone.”
The attacks come as prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu left a cabinet meeting to hold emergency security briefings, amid growing concern over the fragile truce.
The strike is the latest in a series of Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement brokered by the US last week.
Senior Hamas official says group remain committed to the ceasefire
Senior Hamas official Izzat Al Risheq has said that the Palestinian militant group remain committed to the ceasefire, which he accused Israel of repeatedly violating:
“Hamas movement reaffirms its commitment to the ceasefire agreement and emphasises that the Zionist occupation is the party continuing to violate the agreement and fabricate baseless pretexts to justify its crimes.”
“Netanyahu’s attempts to evade and disavow his commitments come under pressure from his extremist terrorist coalition, in a bid to escape his responsibilities before the mediators and guarantors.”
Israel identifies latest returned body as former Thai hostage
Israel have confirmed that the second of two bodies returned overnight by Hamas was that of a Thai farm worker, killed during the 7 October 2023 attack, whose body was taken to Gaza, AFP reports.
Benjamin Netanyahu’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.
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Israel launches fresh assault on Gaza, citing 'blatant violation' of ceasefire
Israel have launched airstrikes in Rafah in southern Gaza, Israeli and Palestinian media report, as clashes flared between Israeli forces and Hamas despite a fragile US-brokered ceasefire.
Israel’s public broadcaster Kan said the air force was striking targets in Rafah, while other outlets reported attacks elsewhere in southern Gaza and in the city of Jabalia in the north of the territory.
Israeli TV network Channel 12 reported that the Rafah strikes were aimed at protecting members of the Yasser Abu Shabab militia – an Israeli-backed armed group accused by Palestinian sources of stealing humanitarian aid and attacking civilians during Israel’s two-year war on Gaza.
The Palestinian outlet Quds Network, citing an unnamed security source, said a Hamas-led internal security unit had carried out an operation targeting a hideout belonging to the Yasser Abu Shabab group east of Rafah, shortly before the Israeli airstrikes began.
According to The Times of Israel, “terror operatives in the Gaza Strip launched an attack on Israeli forces in Rafah,” prompting the strikes.
The Israeli military said that Hamas militants have carried out “multiple attacks” against Israeli forces beyond the “yellow line” buffer zone, including a rocket-propelled grenade and sniper fire, calling it a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
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Israel launches military attack on Gaza amid escalating tensions – reports
Israel has launched an attack on Gaza, according to Israeli media, amid escalating tensions and mutual accusations with Hamas over breaches of the US-brokered ceasefire aimed at ending the war in the territory.
There was no immediate comment from the military on the reported attack.
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Netanyahu says Rafah crossing to stay closed until Hamas returns bodies of hostages as ceasefire tensions rise
The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said, adding its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over the bodies of deceased hostages as the two sides continued to trade blame over ceasefire violations.
Hamas, in a statement late on Saturday, said Netanyahu’s decision to keep the crossing closed “constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement and a repudiation of the commitments he made to the mediators and guarantor parties.”
As of Saturday evening, Hamas had handed back 12 of 28 deceased captives, saying it would need specialist recovery equipment to retrieve the rest from the ruins of Gaza.
In key developments:
Israel identified the body of a deceased hostage today, after Hamas handed over two bodies of what the militant group said are deceased hostages to the Red Cross late Saturday night.
Late on Saturday, the US state department said it had received “credible reports indicating an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the people of Gaza.”
Hamas has rejected the accusations, calling them “false” and blaming Israel for sponsoring “criminal gangs” responsible for killings, kidnappings and looting in Gaza. The group said its police forces were pursuing those responsible and urged Washington “to stop echoing the occupation’s misleading narrative”.
Gaza’s media office has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire with Hamas 47 times since the truce came into effect in early October.