Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday (October 28) that he has ordered the military to launch a “strong strike” in the Gaza Strip. He accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement.
The Prime Minister’s Office stated in a brief statement, “After the security consultations, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the military to immediately carry out a strong strike in the Gaza Strip.”
Netanyahu made this decision after convening a meeting to discuss Israel’s response to Hamas’s repeated violations of the ceasefire agreements.
Although the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office did not specify the reasons for the attack, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that Hamas would pay a “heavy price” for attacking Israeli soldiers and violating the agreements in southern Rafah earlier on Tuesday.
“Hamas terrorist organization’s attack on Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers in Gaza today has crossed a clear red line, and the IDF will respond strongly to this.” Katz said in a statement.
He also added, “Hamas will pay a multiple-fold price for attacking IDF soldiers and violating the agreement on returning captives.”
According to Reuters, an Israeli military official stated that Hamas launched an attack on the IDF in Israeli-controlled territory, “another blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu’s office also accused Hamas of handing over the wrong body of a captive to Israel, violating the agreement.
Initially, Hamas responded by saying they would transfer the body of a captive found in a tunnel in Gaza to Israel on Tuesday. However, Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, later announced a delay in the transfer plans, citing Israel’s violation of the ceasefire agreement.
This is the second time in recent days that Israel has accused Hamas of attacking IDF soldiers. On October 19, the IDF stated that Hamas fired an anti-tank missile at the Israeli Defense Forces stationed in the Rafah area, and opened fire on Israeli soldiers, resulting in two Israeli soldiers dead and three injured. In response, the IDF launched a series of attacks in the Gaza Strip at that time.