Israel confronted two major security incidents in Gaza on Saturday, as a Palestinian opened fire on Israeli troops in a designated humanitarian zone and, separately, the army completed a 24-hour manhunt that killed or captured 17 terrorists attempting to flee Rafah’s tunnel network.
According to the Israel Defence Forces, the attack on a humanitarian route constituted a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
Footage released by the IDF showed the attacker firing presumably towards Israeli positions before being struck by return fire. No Israeli casualties were reported.
The military said the incident was part of a pattern of Hamas exploiting the ceasefire, noting that dozens of terrorists had attempted to cross Israeli lines since the truce took effect on October 10. In response to Saturday’s attack, the IDF launched retaliatory strikes on Hamas positions in the Strip.
The Prime Minister’s Office said five senior terrorists were killed in those strikes. “Israel has fully honoured the ceasefire; Hamas has not,” the statement said, accusing the group of using the lull to attack soldiers while executing Palestinian civilians within Gaza. Jerusalem urged mediators to insist that Hamas implement the commitments outlined in President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for the ceasefire, which includes returning the bodies of hostages and enabling the full demilitarisation of Gaza.
Israel says Hamas is still holding the bodies of three people killed on October 7: Israelis Dror Or of Kibbutz Be’eri and Sgt. Maj. Ran Gvili of the Israel Police, along with Thai agricultural worker Sudthisak Rinthalak.
A US official, cited by Axios reporter Barak Ravid, said Washington supported Israel’s right to respond immediately to ceasefire violations.
Meanwhile, in a separate operation, the IDF said it had concluded a 24-hour manhunt in eastern Rafah targeting a group of 17 terrorists who attempted to escape the area’s tunnels.
The army said 11 of the men were killed and six were arrested and transferred to Shin Bet custody for interrogation.
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