Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to carry out “immediate and powerful” strikes in the Gaza Strip, citing what Israel says are clear violations of a United States-brokered ceasefire by Hamas.
The directive followed a round of security consultations in Jerusalem and came amid a dispute over the handling of hostage remains and fresh exchanges of fire along a delineated operational boundary inside Gaza.
In a brief statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu instructed the military echelon to act at once. Israeli officials have accused Hamas of breaching the ceasefire, which has been in place since 10 October, by firing on IDF troops and by mishandling the return of bodies of Israeli hostages. The move appears to be Israel’s sharpest response since the lull began and underscores the fragility of the truce framework.
The immediate trigger was a pair of developments on Tuesday, 28 October. First, an Israeli military official told reporters that Hamas gunmen opened fire on IDF soldiers positioned in an area under Israeli control to the east of the so-called “yellow line,” a boundary that marks the Israeli pullback point agreed during the ceasefire arrangements. Israeli media described the incident as occurring outside zones where Palestinian militants were permitted to operate under the truce terms.
Secondly, a row escalated over the return of remains believed to belong to Israeli hostages. Israeli authorities said the body parts handed over recently were identified as those of Ofir Tzarfati, whose remains were already recovered in 2023, and accused Hamas of breaching understandings on the recovery and transfer process. The Prime Minister’s Office characterised the episode as part of a pattern of violations. Hamas rejected the accusations and, later on Tuesday, its armed wing announced it would postpone the scheduled handover of another hostage’s body, citing alleged Israeli breaches of the ceasefire.
Following Netanyahu’s order, reports of Israeli strikes emerged from the southern Gaza governorates. Local and international outlets described shelling and explosions around Rafah and the eastern approaches to Khan Younis, though the scope and duration of the operations were not immediately clear. The IDF said it had targeted infrastructure used by Hamas.
The decision comes against a complex backdrop. Under the current ceasefire, mediated with U.S. support, Hamas committed to release captives and facilitate the return of remains in stages, while Israel halted large-scale offensive operations and pulled back to positions along defined lines inside Gaza. Despite the arrangement, both sides have traded allegations of non-compliance. Israeli officials say violations have been ongoing “since day one,” pointing to repeated incidents of fire on troops and irregularities in the hostage-remains process. Hamas, for its part, accuses Israel of multiple breaches, including incursions beyond agreed lines and delays or restrictions affecting humanitarian activity.
Policy discussions within Israel appeared to broaden on Tuesday. The Times of Israel reported that officials weighed steps that could include adjusting the operational boundary or asserting additional control over parts of the Strip in response to the alleged violations. No formal decision on territorial changes had been announced at the time of writing, but the discussions suggest potential modifications to the architecture of the ceasefire if the current pattern continues.
Internationally, the developments re-energised diplomatic concerns over the stability of the truce and the prospects for ongoing hostage-recovery efforts. Washington has been closely engaged in maintaining the ceasefire and monitoring compliance claims on both sides. The postponement of the body handover by the Al-Qassam Brigades—framed as a reaction to Israeli actions—illustrates how quickly technical arrangements within the hostage file can be disrupted by events on the ground.
Operationally, the status of the “yellow line” remains a crucial factor. Israeli sources use the term to denote positions to which the IDF pulled back inside Gaza under the ceasefire, with Israel maintaining control to the east of that line. Any exchange of fire across or within proximity to this boundary risks unravelling the truce, prompting retaliatory cycles that are difficult to contain without external mediation. Tuesday’s clash, as described by Israeli officials, occurred in an area they say is clearly within Israel-controlled territory under the truce map.
For families of captives and the broader Israeli and Palestinian publics, the immediate implications are uncertain. The Israeli identification dispute over the previously returned remains has added emotion and complexity to an already sensitive process. Hamas’s decision to delay a planned transfer further complicates efforts to account for those still listed as missing and to manage the exchange of remains under the current framework.
As of Tuesday evening, Israeli strikes were ongoing and further statements from the Prime Minister’s Office and the IDF were anticipated. Mediators will be watching for any sign that the hostilities can be limited and folded back into the ceasefire terms, or whether the exchanges presage a more substantial shift in Israel’s posture inside Gaza. The situation remains fluid, with the durability of the 10 October truce now openly in question.
