Following a series of strikes across the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas’s numerous ceasefire violations, the IDF on Wednesday said it had resumed enforcing the ceasefire.
“In accordance with the directive of the political echelon, and following a series of strikes in which dozens of terrorist targets and terrorists were struck, the IDF has begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire in response to Hamas’s violations,” it said.
The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) struck more than 30 terrorists “holding command positions,” the IDF said, adding that it would continue to maintain and respond to violations of the ceasefire.
Previously, an Israeli official had told The Jerusalem Post that Israel’s strikes across the Gaza Strip were “nearing completion.”
“We have hit dozens of targets and carried out numerous targeted eliminations of Hamas terrorists,” the source said. “This is our decision; we struck every target on the list.”
Israel is planning additional measures in light of the ongoing violations, the source added.
In response to Hamas’s ceasefire violations, namely, the attack on Israeli troops and its failure to return the remains of all the deceased hostages, the IDF had eliminated dozens of the terrorist group’s commanders, Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
“There is and will be no immunity for any of the leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization – neither those wearing suits nor those hiding in tunnels,” he said. “Whoever raises his hand against IDF soldiers, his hand will be cut off.”
Hamas kills IDF soldier in Gaza as fighting continues
On Tuesday, Chief Sgt. First Class (Res.) Yona Efraim "Efi" Feldbaum was killed in the Gaza Strip by Hamas sniper fire.
Earlier that day, the IDF intensified its strikes across Gaza after Hamas fired at soldiers in the southern part of the Strip, according to Palestinian reports.
It struck in the area of Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, per Muhammad Abu Salmiya, the hospital’s director-general.
Hamas terrorists also attempted to reach a weapons cache hidden within a mosque in an IDF-controlled part of the Gaza Strip on the same day as Hamas released the final living hostages from captivity, according to an Army Radio report.
Army Radio reported that the group of terrorists crossed the Yellow Line, the perimeter to which the IDF withdrew following the implementation of the US-brokered Israel-Gaza ceasefire, before they were spotted by an IDF drone.
The terrorists were apprehended and detained by IDF soldiers before they reached the mosque, which is less than a mile away from the border fence opposite Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
This is a developing story.