'Crisis' 19 days after Gaza truce... Netanyahu orders resumption of airstrikes

Using 'delays in returning hostages and bodies' as pretext

Orders the military to attack... 26 killed

Trump says "The truce is still in effect"

Israel resumed military operations in the Gaza Strip, citing Hamas's violation of the truce agreement. The United States said it was not a breach of the truce and distanced itself, but concerns have arisen that instability in the Middle East is rising again.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said on the 28th (local time) in a statement that "Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to carry out immediate and strong attacks in the Gaza Strip." At least 26 people are reported to have been killed in this airstrike. The Prime Minister's Office did not specify the reasons for the attack.

Reuters, citing Israeli military officials, reported that "Hamas attacked Israeli forces in areas under Israeli control, violating the truce agreement." Israel also said that on the 19th Hamas fired at Israeli forces in the southern Rafah area of the Gaza Strip and attacked Hamas infrastructure.

Israel says Hamas is deliberately delaying the return of bodies. The identity of one body that Hamas additionally returned the day before was confirmed to be part of a hostage's remains already recovered in 2023. According to The Times of Israel, the Israeli military released drone footage claiming "Hamas moved parts of the body outside a building, buried them in a previously dug pit, and then pretended to be the first to find the body in front of the International Red Cross." Hamas said, "Israel is trying to fabricate facts to expand its attacks." It said it would postpone the planned additional handover of bodies that day.

This airstrike occurred 19 days after the two sides agreed to a truce on the 9th of this month, mediated by U.S. President Donald Trump. Reuters and others said the Gaza Strip peace agreement has been put to the test. President Trump said that Israel's airstrikes in the Gaza Strip did not constitute a breaking of the truce. On the presidential plane en route to Seoul on the 29th, he said, "There is no reason the truce should become endangered," and "Hamas should understand that it is only a very small part of Middle East peace." President Trump defended Israel's use of force, stressing "(Hamas) killed Israeli soldiers, so Israel retaliated." U.S. Vice President JD Vance also said in Congress, "The truce is still in effect." He added, "While Israel is expected to respond, President Trump's peace will nevertheless continue."

Reporter Han Myung-hyun wise@hankyung.com