11 killed as Israel launches attacks on Gaza, ceasefire under strain

Rafah border crossing stays closed while Hamas ‘adhering to ceasefire agreement’

GAZA:  Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed at least 11 people across the territory.

Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the agency, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas authority, said six of the victims were killed when an Israeli strike targeted a “group of civilians” in northern Gaza.

The Israeli military said it was checking the reports of casualties.

Hamas’s armed wing said it had recovered the body of an Israeli hostage and would hand it over later Sunday “if field conditions allow”, as both sides accused the other of violating a ceasefire in Gaza.

“Today, the Al-Qassam Brigades found the body of one of the Israeli captives during ongoing search operations,” the group said on its Telegram channel.

If the handover takes place, it will be the 13th deceased hostage returned by Hamas since the truce took effect last week.

Hamas’ armed wing insisted on Sunday that the group is adhering to the ceasefire agreement with Israel and was unaware of any clashes in Rafah, where the Israeli military carried out air strikes.

“We reaffirm our full commitment to implement everything that was agreed upon, foremost of which is a ceasefire across all areas of the Gaza Strip,” the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.

“We have no knowledge of any incidents or clashes taking place in the Rafah area, as these are red zones under the occupation’s control, and contact with the remaining groups of ours there has been cut off since the war resumed in March of this year.”

The Israeli military confirmed it carried out air strikes in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday.

Israel has returned the bodies of 15 Palestinian prisoners to Gaza, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said Sunday. Rafah border crossing with Egypt remains closed Israel has threatened to keep the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt closed “until further notice.” Monitoring Desk