KEY POINTS
- Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 45 Palestinians despite an active ceasefire.
- International mediators intensified diplomacy to save the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas.
- Gaza’s civil defence reported heavy bombardments in Deir el-Balah, Nuseirat, and Khan Younis.
- Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire, saying it would “respond forcefully” to any attacks.
- Trump insisted the truce remained in effect, calling violations the work of “rebels within Hamas.”
- US envoys returned to Israel for talks with Netanyahu’s government.
- Gaza authorities reported 80 Israeli ceasefire violations since 10 October.
- Hamas accused Israel of undermining the truce by blocking aid and attacking civilians.
GAZA CITY, Palestine: International mediators intensified diplomatic efforts on Monday to save the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after Israeli forces carried out a new wave of deadly strikes across Gaza, killing dozens of Palestinians.
Health officials in Gaza said at least 45 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, including women and children, following Israeli claims that Hamas fighters had violated the truce by targeting its troops.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said that several neighbourhoods were hit, with casualties reported in Deir el-Balah, Nuseirat and Khan Younis.
On Monday, Al Jazeera reported explosions in southern Gaza, including three blasts east of Khan Younis, while Israeli artillery shelled areas east of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
The Israeli military said it was “reinforcing” the ceasefire after a “series of significant attacks,” vowing to “respond forcefully to any violation of the agreement.”
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said the truce, brokered by the United States on 10 October, remained in place despite the latest violence.
“Yeah, it is,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One when asked whether the ceasefire was still holding.
He said that alleged violations may have been carried out by “some rebels within” Hamas rather than its leadership.
“It’s going to be handled toughly, but properly,” he said, adding that his administration was working to ensure “a very peaceful” implementation of the agreement.
US envoys meet Netanyahu
Two of the United States’ top envoys to the Middle East met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday after weekend Israeli strikes threatened to wreck the ceasefire in Gaza.
On Monday, Israel carried out dozens of strikes across Gaza — using 153 tonnes of bombs, according to Netanyahu.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser son-in-law Jared Kushner met Netanyahu on Monday to discuss “developments and updates in the region”, Shosh Bedrosian, spokeswoman for the prime minister’s office, told journalists.
Bedrosian added that US Vice President JD Vance and his wife were also due to visit Israel “for a few days and will be meeting with the prime minister”.
Netanyahu later told the Israeli parliament that Vance was due to arrive on Tuesday for discussions on “two things… the security challenges we face and the diplomatic opportunities before us”.
“We will overcome the challenges and seize the opportunities,” he added.
Trump warns Hamas against ceasefire violation
Trump said Monday that he would give Hamas a chance to honour the Gaza truce deal with Israel, but warned the Palestinian group would be “eradicated” if it fails to do so.
“We made a deal with Hamas that they’re going to be very good, they’re going to behave, they’re going to be nice,” Trump told reporters at the White House as he hosted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“And if they’re not, we’re going to go and we’re going to eradicate them, if we have to. They’ll be eradicated, and they know that.”
Trump, however, insisted that American forces would not be involved against Hamas, saying dozens of countries that have agreed to join an international stabilisation force for Gaza would “love to go in.”
“In addition, you have Israel would go in in two minutes, if I asked them to go in,” Trump said.
“But right now, we haven’t said that. We’re going to give it a little chance, and hopefully there will be a little less violence. But right now, you know, they’re violent people.”
Gaza death toll rises
According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, Israeli forces have violated the ceasefire 80 times since it took effect on 10 October, killing at least 97 Palestinians and injuring more than 300.
The office accused Israel of “deliberate targeting” of civilians and described the violations as “a blatant breach of international humanitarian law.”
Medical sources, cited by Al Jazeera, said 57 bodies, including 45 people killed directly by Israeli fire and 12 recovered from rubble, were brought to hospitals in the past 48 hours.
Since Israel launched its bombardment campaign in Gaza in October 2023, at least 68,216 Palestinians — mostly women and children — have been killed, and over 170,361 others wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Dozens remain missing under debris, the ministry said.
Hamas accuses Israel of undermining truce
Meanwhile, Hamas accused Israel of trying to “sabotage” the ceasefire through repeated attacks and restrictions on essential goods.
In a statement, the Palestinian group said Israeli forces continued to block the entry of food, medical supplies, and construction materials into Gaza and had delayed the release of women and minors held in Israeli prisons.
Hamas claimed that 150 bodies returned by Israel showed signs of strangulation and crushing, alleging some victims were “handcuffed.”
Still, the Palestinian group reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire, urging mediators to compel Israel to honour the agreement “in both letter and spirit.”
Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Harris urged both sides to uphold the truce and called for the immediate reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing for humanitarian aid.
“We need to see the Rafah crossing opened as an absolute priority,” he said in Luxembourg, warning that “the ceasefire must hold.”
Talks to resume in Cairo
A Hamas delegation led by chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya arrived in Cairo on Monday to meet Egyptian and Qatari mediators and discuss next steps.
The second phase of the ceasefire deal is expected to address Hamas’s disarmament, Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, and the establishment of a new governing authority backed by the international community.
A senior Egyptian official involved in the negotiations said “round-the-clock” efforts were underway to restore calm after Sunday’s escalation.
Former Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth, citing the UN Genocide Convention, noted that “deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction” could constitute genocide, in reference to Gaza’s devastation.
Today's devastated Gaza: One way to commit genocide is by "deliberately inflicting" on a group "conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part." https://t.co/qcuub8Zt7B
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) October 20, 2025
