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Israel The army has launched a fresh attack targeting a “terrorist infrastructure” site in northern Gaza where weapons were stored.
Gaza City residents said they heard an explosion and saw plumes of smoke in the Beit Lahiya area on Wednesday. The latest attack came 24 hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a new wave of attacks on the enclave. Gaza health officials say more than 100 people killed,
The renewed attacks are increasing pressure on the fragile ‘ceasefire’ agreement that came into force two weeks ago, when US President Donald Trump secured the return of the remaining surviving Israeli hostages and declared “peace in the Middle East”.
An Israeli military statement on Wednesday said: “The IDF, under the leadership of the Southern Command and through the Air Force, conducted a targeted attack on a terrorist infrastructure in the Beit Lahiya area in the northern Gaza Strip, which stored weapons and air means, which were to be used to carry out an immediate terrorist plan against IDF forces and the State of Israel.
“IDF forces in the Southern Command are deployed in the area in accordance with the framework of the ceasefire agreement and will continue to act to address any immediate threat.”
After the first wave of attacks on Tuesday, Trump insisted that the ceasefire was still in force 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 retaliated and must retaliateWhen that happens, they must strike back.”
Trump insisted there was no way to jeopardize the ceasefire, which has been shaken in recent days by fresh attacks in Gaza, delays in the return of hostages and disruptions in the delivery of humanitarian aid. Gaza’s health ministry said Tuesday’s attacks killed 104 people.
Israel said it carried out Tuesday’s strikes in response to Hamas allegedly violating the terms of a ceasefire agreement.
“Yesterday (Tuesday) in response to Hamas’s blatant violations of the ceasefire agreement, overnight, the IDF and ISA, guided by IDF intelligence, launched precision strikes against dozens of Hamas terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip,” it said in a statement. “The targets attacked included key terrorists, observation posts, weapons production warehouses, launch posts, underground tunnels and mortar shell firing posts.
“In addition, the IDF conducted attack attempts targeting three militants of the battalion commander rank, two militants of the deputy battalion commander rank, and sixteen militants of the company commander rank.”
The IDF said it targeted and eliminated terrorists who infiltrated Israeli territory during the October 7, 2023 massacre.
Hamas responded to Tuesday’s attacks by accusing Israel of breaking the ceasefire.
“The criminal bombardment carried out by the fascist occupation forces on areas across the Gaza Strip is a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement signed in Sharm el-Sheikh under the patronage of US President Trump,” it said in a statement.
“This terrorist attack is a continuation of a series of violations committed in the past days, including attacks that resulted in martyrs and injured, and the continued closure of the Rafah crossing.
“This violates the terms of the agreement and confirms an attempt to undermine it. We call on the mediators, the guarantors of the agreement, to take immediate action to put pressure on the occupation, stop its brutal escalation against civilians in the Gaza Strip, stop serious violations of the ceasefire agreement, and force it to comply with all its terms.”
Last week, several high-profile members of Trump’s Cabinet, including Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visited Gaza and stressed that the president’s agreement would hold despite several deadly incidents since it came into force.