Israel Strikes Rafah After Alleging Hamas-Led Attack Violates Gaza Ceasefire

RAFAH, GAZA – The fragile US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza has been severely tested after Israel launched air strikes in southern Gaza on Sunday, claiming “terrorists fired an anti-tank missile and gunfire toward IDF [Israel Defense Forces] troops.”

The IDF called the attack near Rafah a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement” and confirmed it had “begun striking in the area to eliminate the threat and dismantle tunnel shafts and military structures used for terrorist activity.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly instructed top defense officials “to act forcefully against terrorist targets.”

Meanwhile, Hamas’s military wing (al-Qassam Brigades) denied any knowledge of clashes in the Rafah area, stating the zone is under Israeli control and contact with their remaining groups there has been cut since March.

The violence compounds an already tense situation following a US warning just hours earlier. The US State Department announced it had “credible reports” that Hamas was planning an “imminent” attack on civilians in Gaza, which would be a “direct and grave” violation of the ceasefire.

While Hamas strongly denied any planned attack, the incident in Rafah underscores the instability in Gaza, where the IDF still controls just over 50% of the territory after withdrawing to an agreed so-called yellow line.

Local sources indicate the fighting may be linked to the chaotic power vacuum in the territory. One source told BBC News that the attack began as Hamas fighters clashed with a local armed group, Yasser Abu Shabab’s Popular Forces, in an area controlled by Israeli forces, only to come under surprise Israeli tank fire.

The Gaza war ceasefire, part of President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan, came into effect on October 10. Phase One has seen the successful exchange of all living Israeli hostages for 250 Palestinian prisoners, and a difficult process of returning the bodies of the deceased.

However, a critical term of the agreement requires Hamas to relinquish its weapons to ensure “New Gaza poses no threat to its neighbours or its people.” Hamas’s ongoing effort to reassert authority—by recalling around 7,000 security forces—and its accusations that Israel is backing rival criminal gangs that loot aid convoys are fueling the instability.

The wider conflict was sparked by the deadly Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people in Israel. Since then, at least 68,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.