GAZA CITY, Oct. 15, 2025 (AFP) — Gaza’s civil defence agency said Wednesday that overnight Israeli air strikes killed at least 50 people, including 22 children, after Israel launched a new wave of attacks across the Palestinian territory in response to an incident that left one Israeli soldier dead.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal condemned the bombardments as “a clear and flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement,” saying the strikes hit tents for displaced families, residential homes, and the vicinity of a hospital. Around 200 people were wounded, according to the agency.
US President Donald Trump, speaking during his trip to Asia, insisted that “nothing” would jeopardise the fragile truce he helped broker between Israel and Hamas.
The Israeli military said it resumed air strikes Tuesday after accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire by firing on its troops in southern Gaza, killing Sergeant Yona Efraim Feldbaum, 37, in Rafah when his engineering vehicle came under fire.
“A few minutes later, several anti-tank missiles were fired at another armoured vehicle in the area,” a military official said.
Hamas denied involvement in the Rafah shooting, reiterating its commitment to the US-brokered ceasefire.
“They killed an Israeli soldier. So the Israelis hit back. And they should hit back,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “But nothing’s going to jeopardise the truce.”
Hospitals Hit as Tensions Rise
Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital said one of the air strikes landed in its backyard, while Al-Awda Hospital reported receiving several bodies — including four children — from the bombing of Nuseirat refugee camp.
“We had just started to breathe again, trying to rebuild our lives, when the bombardment came back,” said Khadija al-Husni, who lives in a tent at a school in Al-Shati camp. “It’s a crime. Either there is a truce or a war — it can’t be both.”
Ceasefire Under Strain
The renewed violence comes amid tensions over the implementation of Trump’s 20-point peace plan, which calls for Hamas’s disarmament and its exclusion from governing post-war Gaza.
Under the deal, Israel has been returning Palestinian bodies held in its custody in exchange for the remains of Israeli hostages. On Tuesday, Red Crescent trucks delivered 45 Palestinian bodies to Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.
However, the ceasefire was shaken earlier this week when Israel accused Hamas of handing over partial remains of a hostage already repatriated two years ago. Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian called the act “a staged fabrication.”
“Hamas dug a hole, placed the partial remains inside, covered it back up with dirt, and handed it over to the Red Cross,” she alleged.
Hamas rejected the accusation, saying Israel’s bombardment had made recovering bodies extremely difficult.
“The movement is determined to hand over the bodies of the Israeli captives as soon as possible once they are located,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP.
A Fragile Calm
So far, Hamas has returned all 20 living hostages as stipulated by the truce agreement. The group’s October 2023 attack on Israel killed 1,221 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures.
Israel’s subsequent offensive on Gaza has left at least 68,531 Palestinians dead, according to the Hamas-run health ministry — figures the United Nations considers credible.
Despite the ceasefire, the death toll continues to rise as more bodies are uncovered beneath the rubble.
On the ground in Gaza, residents fear the worst.
“The return of war is what we feared most,” said Jalal Abbas, 40. “Every day they threaten to bring it back, using the issue of the bodies as an excuse.”
