On October 19, 2025, the Israeli military stated that Hamas launched an anti-tank missile at the Israel Defense Forces operating in the Rafah area and opened fire on Israeli soldiers, violating the ceasefire agreement. In response, the IDF launched a series of attacks in the Gaza Strip.
Both the Israeli government and Hamas have been accusing each other of violating the ceasefire agreement in recent days. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the military to respond forcefully to Hamas’s violations of the ceasefire agreement.
The IDF announced on Sunday that attacks have been carried out in Gaza to eliminate threats and dismantle tunnels and military facilities used by Hamas terrorists. The targets of the attack were armed militants in southern Rafah. These militants fired an anti-tank missile at the IDF and opened fire on Israeli soldiers.
“These terrorist actions blatantly violate the ceasefire agreement, and the IDF will respond firmly,” the military stated.
In a statement, Hamas’s armed faction expressed their commitment to abide by the ceasefire agreement in all of Gaza, adding that they were unaware of the conflict in Rafah and had not been in contact with armed groups there since March.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that the IDF has withdrawn to the “red lines” area according to the ceasefire agreement, and any violation of the ceasefire or attempts to cross that line will face retaliatory fire.
According to the Israeli newspaper “Israel Times,” Prime Minister Netanyahu will convene an emergency meeting with senior aides on Sunday evening to discuss Israel’s response to the earlier attacks by Hamas on the IDF and Hamas’s failure to return most of the remaining slain hostages.