At least 33 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency and local hospitals. The strikes came after Israel accused Hamas of violating the US-brokered ceasefire deal by attacking its troops and failing to return deceased hostages’ bodies.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Katz said Hamas had crossed “a bright red line” after an ambush in southern Gaza killed an Israeli soldier. “Hamas will pay many times over for attacking the soldiers and for violating the agreement,” he warned.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos and destruction as missiles struck residential areas across Gaza City, Beit Lahia, Bureij, Nuseirat, and Khan Younis. In Gaza City, at least 14 people, including women and children, were killed when Israeli jets bombed homes in the Sabra neighbourhood.
Civil Defence teams pulled several bodies from the rubble amid fears that more victims were trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
In the central Bureij refugee camp, five members of the Abu Sharar family were killed in a strike on their home. In the southern city of Khan Younis, five others died when a vehicle was targeted on a nearby road.
“Our teams are working amid extremely difficult conditions,” a Civil Defence spokesman said.
The Israeli military confirmed that Master Sergeant Yona Efraim Feldbaum, a reservist, was killed during an operation in Rafah when gunmen opened fire from tunnels.
Hamas, however, denied any involvement, calling the attack a “fabrication” and insisting it remained committed to the ceasefire.
The group condemned the airstrikes as “criminal bombardment” and accused Israel of “blatantly violating the agreement.” Hamas’s military wing later said it would delay the return of a hostage’s body due to Israeli “violations.”
The ceasefire, mediated by the US, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, began on 10 October as part of President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan. It required Hamas to return all 48 hostages, alive and deceased, within 72 hours.
So far, 20 living hostages have been released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, but disputes over the remaining bodies have strained the deal.
Israel said Hamas breached the agreement after it handed over human remains that did not match any of the 13 deceased hostages still in Gaza. Drone footage released by the Israeli military appeared to show Hamas operatives staging a “fake recovery,” a claim Hamas rejected as “baseless.”
US President Trump, speaking aboard Air Force One, insisted that “nothing will jeopardise the ceasefire,” but said Israel had the right to “hit back” if attacked. Vice-President JD Vance described the situation as “little skirmishes” but maintained that the truce was holding.
Since the start of the 2023 conflict, more than 68,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Tuesday night’s escalation has raised fears that the fragile ceasefire could collapse entirely, plunging the region back into full-scale war.