US president Donald Trump said a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was still in effect, and Israel said it has resumed that ceasefire following its air strikes on Sunday.
“Yeah, it is,” Mr Trump told reporters on Sunday when asked about the situation.
A wave of Israeli air strikes killed 26 people in Gaza, according to local authorities and residents. Israel said an earlier attack killed two of its soldiers.
The Israeli military later said on Sunday the ceasefire in Gaza had resumed, and officials said aid deliveries will resume on Monday.
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Israel launched waves of air strikes on Sunday and cut off all aid into Gaza “until further notice” after a reported attack by Hamas, in escalations that marked the most serious threat so far to the increasingly fragile ceasefire in the devastated territory.
Two Israeli soldiers, including an officer, were killed in the Hamas attack. Palestinian officials said dozens died in the retaliatory air strikes.
A senior Egyptian official said “round-the-clock” contacts were under way to de-escalate the situation as regional powers scramble to shore up the ceasefire, though hopes rose that a complete collapse could be avoided when both Hamas and the Israeli military issued statements saying they were committed to the agreement.
Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner have returned to Israel, a US embassy spokesperson has said. They are overseeing the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which they helped broker, and are expected to meet members of the Israeli government.
US vice-president JD Vance said yesterday that he may visit Israel in the coming days.
Observers said the US presence was a clear effort to hold Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, to the deal signed in Sharm-el-Sheikh earlier this month.
Even before Sunday’s violence, tensions had been running high in recent days with a dispute between Hamas and Israel over the return of the remains of 28 deceased hostages held by the militant Islamist group. Israel has said Hamas is delaying the return of some hostages’ remains in violation of the ceasefire deal.
Palestinian officials in Gaza accused Israel on Saturday of violating the ceasefire 48 times and killing dozens of Palestinians since the deal brokered by Trump was signed 10 days ago.
There was no official confirmation from Israel of the move to suspend all aid, which was widely reported in Israeli media as well as by international news agencies citing security officials.
Earlier on Sunday, Israel announced that the crucial Rafah crossing with Egypt would remain shut “until further notice”. Moves to delay the opening of Rafah last week prompted widespread international condemnation.
The deal signed last week between Israel and Hamas raised hopes of an improvement in the acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza. A surge of aid was one of the key elements of the 20-point deal brokered by Donald Trump.
The new Israeli restrictions will mean renewed suffering for many in Gaza, where famine was declared in parts in August. Fuel and medical supplies are also desperately scarce, particularly in the north, where destruction is most severe.
The Israeli military said its strikes into Gaza came after Hamas attacked Israeli troops “operating to dismantle terrorist infrastructure” in the southern city of Rafah.
Maj Yaniv Kula (26) and Staff Sgt 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 10th.
Israeli planes then began targeting what it said were tunnel shafts and military infrastructure in the area and also launched strikes in the northern town of Beit Lahia.
In a statement, Mr Netanyahu’s office said he had directed the military to take “strong action” against any ceasefire violations but did not threaten an immediate return to war – as demanded by his far-right allies in the ruling coalition.
On Sunday evening an Israeli security official told Channel 12, an Israeli TV network, that Israel “did not want to bring down the ceasefire” and implied that Israel was aware that some Hamas militants were operating without orders from commanders.
Later, a military spokesperson said that Israeli forces, “following a series of significant strikes in response to Hamas’s violations”, had “begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire”. – Agencies
