Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire during the return of hostage remains.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday ordered his military to conduct “forceful” airstrikes in Gaza, his office wrote on social media, putting new pressure on a weeks-old ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
The announcement comes less than a month after President Donald Trump proclaimed that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a tentative peace deal, with Israeli hostages returning home and food aid flowing — albeit unsteadily — into Gaza. The White House has since worked to keep the deal together, at times expressing frustration with Netanyahu and lawmakers in the Knesset.
Netanyahu’s office said hours earlier that remains that were recently returned by Hamas were actually just additional remains of a hostage who was already previously recovered “in a military operation about 2 years ago.”
“This constitutes a clear violation of the agreement by the Hamas terrorist organization,” the prime minister’s office said earlier Tuesday. “Prime Minister Netanyahu will hold a security discussion with the heads of the security establishment to discuss Israel’s steps in response to the violations.”
Israel had previously struck the enclave during the ceasefire, after alleging last week that Hamas militants had shot at its soldiers. Both Israel and Hamas have accused the other of repeatedly violating the ceasefire agreement.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But Trump on Saturday made it clear the pressure was on Hamas to return the bodies of deceased hostages, or “the other Countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action.”
“Let’s see what they do over the next 48 hours,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social. “I am watching this very closely.”
Still, the president has signaled that his support of Israel has its limits.
“I said to Bibi, ‘Bibi, you can’t fight the world. You can fight individual battles, but the world’s against you,’” he told Time Magazine on Oct. 15 over his diplomatic efforts to press Netanyahu to end his incursion into Gaza. “And Israel is a very small place compared to the world.”
Last week, Vice President JD Vance slammed a Knesset vote over the annexation of the West Bank, calling it “stupid” and telling reporters he was insulted by the Israeli parliament.
International officials are already expressing concern that Netanyahu may be unwilling or unable to deliver an enduring peace. Hadja Lahbib, the European commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, told POLITICO before Tuesday’s strikes that she doubted his commitment to Trump’s ceasefire.