The Israeli military it has conducted a fresh strike in northern Gaza targeting a “terrorist infrastructure” site where weapons were stored.
Residents in Gaza City said they heard an explosion in the area of Beit Lahia and saw a column of smoke on Wednesday. The latest attack comes 24 hours after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a new wave of strikes on the enclave, which Gaza health authorities say killed more than 100 people.
The renewed strikes continue to heap pressure on the fragile ‘ceasefire’ deal that came into effect two weeks ago, when US president Donald Trump secured the return of the remaining living Israeli hostages and announced there was “peace in the Middle East”.
An Israeli military statement said on Wednesday: “The IDF carried out a targeted attack in the Beit Lahia area in the northern Gaza Strip, led by the Southern Command and through the Air Force, on a terrorist infrastructure that stored weapons and airborne means intended to be used to carry out a terrorist plan in the immediate term against IDF forces and the State of Israel.
“IDF forces in the Southern Command are deployed in the region in accordance with the outline of the ceasefire agreement and will continue to act to remove any immediate threat.”
Following the first wave of strikes on Tuesday, Trump insisted the ceasefire was still in place and said the attacks by Israel were justified.
"As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier," he said aboard Air Force One, referring to an earlier incident. "So the Israelis hit back and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back.”
Trump insisted that nothing was going to jeopardise the ceasefire, which has been shaken in recent days by fresh strikes in Gaza, the delayed return of hostage remains and blockages to the delivery of humanitarian aid. Gaza’s health ministry said Tuesday’s strikes had killed 104 people.
Israel said it carried out Tuesday’s strikes in retaliation for Hamas allegedly violating the terms of the ceasefire deal.
“Overnight, in response to Hamas’ blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement yesterday (Tuesday), the IDF and ISA, guided by IDF intelligence, carried out precise strikes against dozens of Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip,” a statement said. “The targets struck included key terrorists, observation posts, weapons production warehouses, launch posts, underground tunnels, and mortar shell firing posts.
“In addition, the IDF conducted strike attempts targeting three terrorists at the rank of battalion commander, two terrorists at the rank of deputy battalion commander, and sixteen terrorists at the rank of company commander.”
The IDF said it had targeted and eliminated terrorists who infiltrated Israeli territory during the massacre of 7 October, 2023.
Hamas responded to the Tuesday strikes by accusing Israel of breaking the ceasefire.
“The criminal bombardment carried out by the fascist occupation army on areas across the Gaza Strip constitutes a flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement, signed in Sharm El-Sheikh under the patronage of US President Trump,” a statement said.
“This terrorist attack is a continuation of the series of violations committed over the past days, including assaults that resulted in martyrs and wounded, and the continued closure of the Rafah crossing.
“This confirms the intent to violate the terms of the agreement and attempt to undermine it. We call on the mediators, the guarantors of the agreement, to take immediate action to pressure the occupation, curb its brutal escalation against civilians in the Gaza Strip, halt its serious violations of the ceasefire agreement, and compel it to abide by all its terms.”
Last week multiple high profile members of Trump’s cabinet, including vice president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio, visited Gaza to insist the president’s deal would hold despite multiple fatal incidents since it came into force.
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