Israel accused Hamas of attacking Israeli forces in southern Gaza while the military carried out airstrikes on the city of Rafah, the first major test of the US-brokered ceasefire.
An Israeli military official says Hamas attacked Israeli forces in southern Gaza with rocket-propelled grenades and sniper fire, prompting Israel to carry out attacks in the area just nine days after the ceasefire began.
The Israeli source familiar with the matter said Israeli forces suffered casualties as a result of the attacks. The incident occurred beyond the Yellow Line – the initial Israeli withdrawal border defined in the ceasefire agreement.
is expected to convene a security consultation on Sunday morning, including the defense minister and the military chief.
Hamas has not yet commented on the accusations, but a senior official from the group, Izzat Al-Rishq, said shortly afterwards on Telegram that the militants remained committed to the ceasefire agreement and accused Israel of “fabricating flimsy pretexts to justify their crimes”.
