Israel’s military says ceasefire is back on as death toll from overnight strikes in Gaza reaches 81

DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip AP Israel s military commented Wednesday the ceasefire was back on in Gaza after it carried out heavy airstrikes across the Palestinian territory that killed at least people including women and children according to local hospitals The strikes the deadliest since the ceasefire was enacted on Oct marked the bulk serious challenge to the tenuous truce to date Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disclosed he had ordered the military to conduct powerful strikes over Gaza after accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire Hamas mentioned in response that that it would delay handing over the body of another hostage U S President Donald Trump in the present on a trip to Asia defended the strikes saying Israel was justified in carrying them out after what he explained was an matter in which Hamas killed an Israeli soldier during an exchange of gunfire in Rafah the southernmost city in Gaza Hamas denied any involvement in that deadly shooting and in turn accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal Mounting death toll Mohammed Abu Selmia director of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City mentioned the death toll was likely to rise further as various of the who were being treated at the hospital including children were in critical condition He announced the hospital received bodies including seven women and six children That s on top of the at least people who were communicated killed earlier First the Aqsa Hospital in Gaza s central city of Deir al-Balah communicated at least bodies among them three women and six children Their bodies reached the hospital overnight after two Israeli airstrikes there In southern Gaza the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis announced it received bodies after five Israeli strikes in the area of which were children and two were women Elsewhere in central Gaza the Al-Awda Hospital revealed it received bodies including children According to bureaucrats from the four Gaza hospitals who spoke to The Associated Press the number of children killed in the strikes overnight has reached Netanyahu s order Netanyahu s order to launch strikes came after an Israeli official stated its forces were fired upon in southern Gaza and after Hamas handed over body parts on Monday that Israel noted were the partial remains of a hostage recovered earlier in the war The Israeli prime minister called the return of these body parts a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement which requires Hamas to return the remaining hostages in Gaza as soon as realizable Israeli authorities also accused Hamas of staging the discovery of these remains on Monday sharing a -minute edited video captured by a military drone in Gaza Israel notified the United States before launching the strikes on Tuesday according to two U S authorities who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the subject The Israeli military announced its forces struck terrorists holding command positions within terrorist organizations operating inside the Palestinian territory Later it reported Israeli forces would continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement but would respond firmly to any violation of the deal Trump defends Israel Trump advised journalists aboard Air Force One on Wednesday that Israel should hit back when its troops come under attack But he noted he s still confident the ceasefire would withstand the escalation in violence because Hamas is a very small part of the overall Middle East peace And they have to behave If not they will be terminated Trump added An Israeli military official mentioned Wednesday that the soldier was killed by enemy fire on Tuesday afternoon targeting his bus in Rafah The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential military operations The official commented Israeli troops in the area came under attack numerous times Tuesday as they worked to destroy tunnels and Hamas infrastructure Israel identified the soldier who was killed as Master Sgt Yona Efraim Feldbaum Hamas insisted it was not involved in the Rafah gunfire and reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire The violent strikes carried out by Israel across the strip is a blatant violation of the ceasefire deal declared the militant group calling on mediators to pressure Israel to stop Gaza hospitals try to cope with casualties Ambulances and small trucks carrying bodies crowded hospital entrances overnight across Gaza In Deir Al-Balah bodies were wheeled in on stretchers and others carried in on mattresses One man walked into the hospital carrying the body of a young child They struck right next to us and we saw all the rubble on top of us and our young ones mentioned a woman standing outside of the hospital At dawn displaced Palestinians at the camp cleared remains of a destroyed tent next to a crater where the strike hit They discovered the body of a small child and wrapped it in a blanket What kind of a ceasefire is this Amna Qrinawi a survivor requested