In a statement, the Israeli military said it would continue to abide by the ceasefire agreement and respond firmly to “any violations”.
President Trump says there is no risk of ceasefire after Israel attacks on Gaza
President Donald Trump says the ceasefire agreement is not in jeopardy after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza left scores dead.
JERUSALEM, Oct 29 (Reuters) – The Israeli military said on Wednesday (October 29) it would abide by a cease-fire agreement in Gaza after health authorities in the strip said airstrikes killed 104 people and both Israel and Hamas were exchanging blame for violations of the agreement.
Israel launched airstrikes in the Gaza Strip late on October 28, the latest challenge to an already fragile ceasefire, it said, acting after an attack by Palestinian militants left one soldier dead.
In a statement, the Israeli military said it would continue to abide by the ceasefire agreement and respond firmly to “any violations”.
Israel says airstrike targeted Hamas commander
The military said in a separate statement that it targeted dozens of Hamas militants across the enclave, as well as the group’s weapons depots and tunnels. The report named five militants, including a Hamas commander, for the October 7, 2023 attack on an Israeli kibbutz that triggered the war.
The Gaza Health Ministry said 46 children and 20 women were among the 104 people killed in Israeli airstrikes since Tuesday. Reuters could not immediately confirm the number, but Reuters video showed the bodies of several women and children inside the hospital during the funeral service.
Despite the shelling, US President Donald Trump said the US-backed ceasefire was not in jeopardy.
“My understanding is that they took out Israeli soldiers,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “So Israelis should fight back and fight back. If that happens, they should fight back,” he added.
The Israeli army confirmed the soldier’s death on October 29.
President Trump said there was “nothing to jeopardize” a ceasefire. “Hamas must understand that they are only a small part of peace in the Middle East, and they must act.”
Israel says Hamas attacked soldiers inside ‘yellow line’
Some displaced Palestinians feared the ceasefire agreement would fall apart. Ismail Zaida, 40, a father of three, recalled the explosions he heard throughout the night, reminding him of the war that claimed tens of thousands of lives.
“It was one of the worst nights since the ceasefire was signed,” Zaida, who lives in a tent in western Gaza City with 25 of her family members, told Reuters via a chat app. “It was one of the worst nights since the ceasefire was signed. There were explosions and planes, and it felt like war had started all over again.”
Israeli military officials said Hamas violated the ceasefire by attacking Israeli troops stationed within the so-called “Yellow Line,” the line of deployment agreed to under the ceasefire.
Hamas denied responsibility for the Israeli attack in Rafah, southern Gaza, and said in a statement that it would continue to abide by the cease-fire agreement that took effect on October 10.
Agreement includes return of hostage remains
Under the agreement, Hamas released all living hostages in exchange for approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners of war and wartime detainees, while Israel withdrew its troops and ceased attacks.
Hamas also agreed to hand over the remains of all deceased hostages that have not yet been recovered, but said it would take time to find and recover all bodies. Israel says the militants have access to the remains of most of the hostages.
The issue has been one of the main sticking points in the ceasefire, and President Trump has said he is monitoring it closely.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the bodies handed over Monday night were those of Israelis killed in the October 7 Hamas attack, and that the bodies were recovered by Israeli forces in the weeks after the fighting began.
The Israeli military said Hamas planted bodies at the excavation site before calling in a Red Cross team and pretending to have found the missing hostages, creating a “false impression of the body-finding operation.”
A 14-minute video released by the military showed three men placing a white bag at the excavation site and covering it with dirt and rocks.
Reuters was able to independently confirm the location of the video, but could not confirm the date of the video or Israel’s explanation of what it showed.
Hamas did not respond to requests for comment.
The ICRC said the team did not know that the remains had been planted at the site before arriving.
“It is unacceptable that a false recovery has been staged at a time when so much depends on this agreement being upheld and when many families are still worried about the fate of their loved ones,” the ICRC said in a statement.
