The Israel-Hamas ceasefire survived a rocky weekend as each side affirmed its commitment to the U.S.-brokered deal.
Early Sunday, Israel accused Hamas of attacking two Israel Defense Force soldiers, the first time Israeli soldiers had been killed in Gaza since the start of the ceasefire. Israel responded by issuing a series of strikes across Gaza.
The region celebrated early last week that part of the ceasefire’s first phase was successful. All 20 remaining living hostages were returned to Israel on Monday and, in return, almost 2,000 Palestinians were transported back to Gaza.
While the ceasefire has held, the prospect of peace in the region is unstable and remains touch-and-go.
Israel responds with force
The IDF confirmed early Sunday that it had “begun a series of strikes” against Hamas in Gaza because of a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.” The IDF said it struck “dozens of Hamas terror targets,” including part of Hamas’ “underground terrorist infrastructure.”
Israel said two of its soldiers were killed by Palestinian militants attacking its forces in an area that was agreed upon to be in Israeli occupation, prompting the strong response from Israel.
Later Sunday, the IDF said it would be complying in accordance with the “directive of the political echelon” and began a “renewed enforcement” of the ceasefire.
“The IDF will continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation of it,” the military said in a post online.
The overnight strikes were the most serious test of the ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump.
Israel has expressed frustration with Hamas’ slow return of the deceased hostages. The Palestinian militant group acknowledged that it would be difficult to recover and return the bodies. As many as 16 deceased hostages have yet to be returned to Israeli authorities.
Is humanitarian aid getting into Gaza?
Critical humanitarian aid heading to Gaza has been restarted, just hours after Israel declared a pause. On Sunday, Israeli officials confirmed that a transfer of aid to the region had been halted, but the military later said it resumed enforcing the ceasefire and aid would restart on Monday, The Associated Press reported.
An Israeli official told The New York Times the aid was halted due to the intensity of Israel’s strikes and it would resume once the bombing was over.
It’s a sign that Israel is committed to seeing the next steps of the ceasefire commence.
As of late last week, the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza remained closed. Aid deliveries were trickling into Gaza, but humanitarian organizations have been limited in what they can get to Palestinians. Trump himself noted that war-torn Gaza “needs a lot of cleanup.”
After Israel’s strikes, the Al-Awda hospital said it received 24 bodies from Israel’s strikes. A strike hit a makeshift coffeehouse in central Gaza and another hit a tent housing women and children, the AP reported.
Trump shares update on threats
Last week, Trump threatened Hamas after the group killed several people in Gaza. As many as 27 people were dead early in the week as Hamas exchanged heavy fire with members of the Dughmush family.
Trump issued a threat to Hamas, noting that if the group continued to kill people in Gaza, “we will have no choice but to go in and kill them.”
In remarks Monday from the White House, Trump did not confirm if U.S. troops would go to Gaza under that threat, but said there are plenty of countries that signed on to the ceasefire deal.
“I mean, we’ve had countries calling me when they saw some of the killing with Hamas, saying, ‘We’d love to go in and take care of the situation ourselves,’” Trump said.
The president said as it stands, he was giving Hamas another chance and hoped there would be “a little less violence.”
Key partners still engaged in next ceasefire phases
Trump’s ceasefire proposal had many points and plans for peace in the region. It included the release of hostages, reconstruction in Gaza and the creation of an international board that would oversee the territory after Israeli troops completely withdrew.
The first phase of the ceasefire played out early last week. Last Monday, Hamas released the remaining living hostages in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners. But the early days of the ceasefire have shown how violence in the region is still erupting from and within each side.
Palestinians were able to return to their homes in Gaza and a “sufficient” quantity of humanitarian aid was agreed to be let in by Israel.
However, since the start of the ceasefire, both sides have accused the other of violating the terms of the agreement. Under the deal, aid would be flowing into Gaza without restrictions and Hamas would have returned all the deceased hostages.
In the proposed next steps in the ceasefire, Hamas would not have any role in governance in Gaza. The group and territory will be demilitarized and military infrastructure would be destroyed. It is currently unclear how or when Hamas would disband, particularly as it has tried to regain control in Gaza in recent days with the killings of opposition members.
Gaza would be temporarily governed by an international committee and supervised by a “Board of Peace” that is headed by Trump. The committee is set to oversee the day-to-day public services in Gaza.
Governance would eventually be given back to the Palestinian Authority, once it undergoes some changes. The White House acknowledged the aspiration of Palestinian people to have self-determination and statehood.
The United States will work with Arab countries to create an International Stabilization Force to be deployed in Gaza. It will provide support to Palestinians by facilitating aid and infrastructure flow and securing borders, preventing groups from entering Gaza.
Israel is set to eventually withdraw all of its forces from Gaza and agree to not occupy or annex the territory.
The future of the plan remains up in the air, but appears to be on track after a rocky weekend. Trump administration negotiators special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner reportedly arrived in Israel to push forward with peace discussions and the next phase.
Witkoff and Kushner detailed their experience negotiating the ceasefire during CBS News’ “60 Minutes.”
“We wanted the hostages to come out. We wanted a real ceasefire that both sides would respect,” Kushner said.