Israel Launches Airstrikes on Netanyahu’s Orders, Gaza Officials Say 30 Dead

Gaza's civil defence teams, operating under Hamas control, reported Tuesday that Israeli warplanes hammered multiple neighborhoods despite the October 10 US-brokered ceasefire, killing at least 30 civilians in three separate strikes—including one that obliterated a vehicle carrying five people and another that rocked the backyard of Al-Shifa hospital, the Strip's largest medical facility. Spokesman Mahmoud Basal described frantic rescue efforts amid burning debris, with entire families buried under collapsed homes in central and southern Gaza.

The onslaught followed Israeli accusations that Hamas gunmen opened fire on IDF troops near Rafah, violating the fragile truce just 19 days in. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed he personally authorized "powerful and immediate strikes," while Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed the military would hit back "with great force" for crossing a "bright red line." Hamas swiftly denied involvement, calling the Rafah clash a "fabricated pretext" and warning that ongoing bombings were "burying the dead twice" by destroying potential gravesites.

From Washington, Vice President JD Vance brushed off the carnage on Fox News, labeling it "little skirmishes" inevitable in any ceasefire. Fresh from emergency talks in Jerusalem last week alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vance insisted President Trump's deal was "holding strong." "Hamas or rogue elements attacked an IDF soldier—we knew responses would come, but this won't derail the bigger peace," he said, as White House social media echoed his optimism amid plunging regional stability indexes.

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Tensions exploded further over hostage remains. Hamas had pledged to return 28 deceased captives but stunned Israel Monday by delivering partial bones later identified—via DNA and forensic imaging—as belonging to a hostage whose full body was recovered in 2023. Israeli officials accused militants of staging a macabre theater: digging a shallow pit, planting the old fragments, and "discovering" them for Red Cross cameras. "This is psychological warfare at its cruelest," fumed government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian, showing journalists satellite imagery of the alleged reburial site.

Hamas fired back on Telegram, announcing its armed wing located two more bodies Tuesday amid the fresh rubble but delayed handover, citing "Israeli aggression impeding safe excavation." Spokesman Hazem Qassem rejected claims the group knows exact locations, pointing to two years of bombardment that turned Gaza into an unrecognizable moonscape of craters and twisted rebar. "We’ve returned all 20 living hostages as promised—now Israel bombs the very ground we search," he told AFP.

Hostage families, gathered outside Netanyahu's residence, waved photos of the missing and demanded the government "stop negotiating with liars." The October 7, 2023, massacre—killing 1,221 Israelis, per official tallies—left deep scars, with 251 taken captive. Gaza's UN-vetted health ministry now counts 68,531 dead from Israel's response, a figure climbing daily as civil defence crews pull decayed bodies from under mountains of concrete, even post-ceasefire.

In the shattered streets of Khan Younis, 60-year-old Abdul-Hayy al-Hajj Ahmed sifted through his bombed-out home, telling AFP he fears the worst. "Every accusation against Hamas becomes Israel's excuse to restart hell. We buried our children once—we can't do it again. We just want to rest, but rest feels impossible now." As sirens wailed into the night, diplomats raced to contain a truce teetering on the edge of total collapse.

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