KEY POINTS
- Rubio defended Israel’s “right to self-defence” under the truce.
- Gaza’s Health Ministry reported 68,527 Palestinians killed since October 2023.
- Since the October 11 ceasefire, 93 Palestinians have been killed.
- 473,000 Palestinians returned to northern Gaza amid severe shortages of food and shelter.
- Doctors warned of rising civilian injuries from unexploded ordnance across Gaza.
GAZA CITY, Palestine: The United States said on Monday that it does not consider Israeli strikes in Gaza a violation of the ceasefire agreement, as Israeli forces continued military operations across Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and the occupied West Bank.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said aboard President Donald Trump’s plane en route to Asia that Washington viewed the Israeli strike targeting a member of the Islamic Jihad group as consistent with the terms of the truce.
“We don’t view that as a violation of the ceasefire,” Rubio said, adding that Israel retains the right to self-defence under the US, Egypt and Qatar-brokered ceasefire deal that led to the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza earlier this month.
“They have the right if there’s an imminent threat to Israel, and all the mediators agree with that,” Rubio claimed.
Israel claimed the strike targeted an Islamic Jihad operative allegedly planning an attack. The Palestinian group strongly denied the accusation as baseless.
The Israeli strikes came just a day after Rubio’s departure from Israel following meetings aimed at reinforcing the ceasefire.
Gaza death toll continues to increase
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Monday that 68,527 Palestinians have been killed and 170,395 injured in the Israeli bombardment campaign since October 7, 2023.
In the past 48 hours alone, the ministry said, eight bodies had been recovered from under the rubble and 13 new injuries were reported. Thousands more remain missing under the rubble, the ministry said.
Since the ceasefire took effect on October 11, 2025, 93 people have been killed and 337 injured in Israeli attacks, according to the ministry. It added that 472 bodies had been recovered from various locations during this period, though many remain unidentified.
In #Gaza, the number of people needing mental health care has more than doubled to over 1 million in two years.
Most displaced families live in overcrowded, makeshift sites, often in unsafe areas.
We continue scaling up our response.
Read: https://t.co/LElT9fNMme pic.twitter.com/l9b4j0GRsO
— OCHA OPT (Palestine) (@ochaopt) October 27, 2025
The ministry appealed to the international community and humanitarian agencies to facilitate the delivery of aid and help retrieve bodies trapped under debris.
Displaced Palestinians face hidden dangers
Doctors in Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital reported treating a growing number of civilians injured by unexploded ordnance as displaced families begin returning to their homes.
Dr Harriet, an emergency physician, said that children were among those hurt by leftover bombs.
“They’re setting up tents in the rubble, and there are so many unexploded missiles,” she told Al Jazeera.
The UN estimates that about 66,000 tonnes of unexploded ordnance remain scattered across Gaza, killing at least 53 people so far.
Palestinians returning to northern Gaza
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that 473,000 Palestinians have returned to northern Gaza since the ceasefire began. Many are living amid widespread destruction, facing shortages of food, clean water and shelter.
UNRWA international staff and humanitarian aid continue to be denied entry into #Gaza.
Food, hygiene kits, tents, and other supplies are desperately needed.
A #ceasefire alone is not enough.
Around 12,000 of our staff continue to deliver healthcare, psychosocial support, and… pic.twitter.com/lIZDyHlS0U
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) October 26, 2025
Rights groups and a UN commission of inquiry have accused Israel of committing genocide during the war — allegations that Israel denies.
Ceasefire under strain
Despite the truce, Israeli airstrikes continued on Monday in Khan Younis and Gaza City, according to Al Jazeera.
Drones also targeted areas near camps for displaced people. Israel said the strikes were aimed at fighters planning attacks.
US Vice President JD Vance, visiting Israel last week, described the ceasefire as “going better than expected” — remarks that drew criticism from aid groups as civilian casualties persisted.
Israel expands operations in Syria and Lebanon
Israeli forces also launched fresh incursions into southern Syria, with state media reporting that Israeli troops briefly entered the villages of al-Razaniyah and Sayda al-Hanout in the Quneitra region before withdrawing.
Syria’s UN envoy Ibrahim Olabi condemned the incursions at a Security Council meeting, calling them violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.
In Lebanon, Israeli strikes killed two people in Baalbek and Naqoura over the weekend.
The UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL said it had shot down an Israeli drone after it dropped a grenade near a patrol. Israeli tanks then opened fire on peacekeepers.
Lebanese authorities accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire signed in November 2024, while Israel insists its actions target Hezbollah fighters.
Israel lifts state of emergency
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that the government would lift the state of emergency in southern Israel for the first time since October 2023, citing “a new security reality in the south”.
The emergency order, which granted the military special powers across an 80-kilometre zone near Gaza, had been in place for nearly two years.
Hostage recovery efforts underway
Israeli officials said that Red Cross and Egyptian teams, accompanied by a Hamas representative, were permitted to enter areas beyond the Israeli army’s “Yellow Line” in Gaza to search for the bodies of deceased hostages.
“The Red Cross, the Egyptian technical team, and a Hamas person have been permitted to enter beyond the Yellow Line under close army supervision to identify the location of our hostages,” Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said.
A Red Cross spokesperson also confirmed participation in the mission.
Regional and political fallout
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed that Israel will decide which foreign forces can operate in Gaza under the planned multinational stabilisation mission.
“Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us — and that is how we act and will continue to act,” he said.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected Turkiye’s inclusion in the proposed force, citing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “hostile approach” towards Israel.
Meanwhile, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, speaking in Malaysia, warned that the ceasefire was being “undermined by continued assaults” and called for a path towards Palestinian statehood.
Palestinian economy in collapse
A new UN International Labour Organization (ILO) report said Palestine’s GDP has fallen 29 percent since the war began, with Gaza’s economy contracting by 87 percent.
Unemployment has surged to 32 percent, and the number of Palestinians working in Israel has dropped by 80 percent.
“Immediate and coordinated measures are needed to sustain jobs and support incomes,” said Ruba Jaradat, ILO regional director for Arab States.
