At least 20 Palestinians were killed and 50 others wounded as Israeli forces carried out heavy strikes across Gaza on Tuesday — the deadliest escalation since a ceasefire, brokered by US President Donald Trump, came into effect earlier this month.

Hamas has accused Israel of breaching the truce and postponed the handover of a captive’s body in response.

The Israeli military conducted multiple air raids across the war-ravaged territory following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s order for “powerful” strikes. The decision came after an exchange of gunfire in southern Rafah that left one Israeli soldier injured.

Medical sources told Al Jazeera that four people were killed in a strike on a residential building in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood, while five others died in Khan Younis. Dozens were injured as missiles hit near al-Shifa Hospital, sparking chaos and fear among medical staff and patients.

Civil defence worker Ibrahim Abu Reesh described the situation as “mayhem,” saying rescue teams were digging through rubble with bare hands to locate survivors. “This is a breach of the ceasefire,” he said.

Hamas postpones captive remains handover

Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, accused Israel of violating the truce and said it would delay the planned handover of a captive’s body. The group warned that Israeli attacks would “hinder search, digging, and retrieval operations” for the remaining 13 Israeli captives believed to be buried in Gaza.

Qassam Brigades claimed to have recovered the bodies of two Israeli captives — Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch — during recent operations. The announcement came after Netanyahu said the remains handed over earlier were not among the 13 captives still missing.

US insists ceasefire still intact

In Washington, US Vice President JD Vance maintained that the truce was “still holding,” despite mutual accusations of violations.
“That doesn’t mean there won’t be little skirmishes here and there,” Vance said. “We expect the Israelis are going to respond, but the president’s peace is going to hold.”

According to The Associated Press, Israel had informed Washington before launching the latest strikes. A US official told Al Jazeera that recovering the bodies of Israeli captives remains “difficult and time-consuming” amid widespread destruction in Gaza.

Political reactions in Israel

Following the Rafah incident, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz blamed Hamas for the attack and vowed the group would “pay a heavy price.”
Members of Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet called for harsher retaliation. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged re-arresting Palestinians released in previous exchanges, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir demanded that Israel “destroy [Hamas] completely.”

In a statement, Hamas condemned the bombings as a “flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement” signed in Sharm el-Sheikh under Trump’s mediation.
Suhail al-Hindi, a senior Hamas official, told Al Jazeera that the group “remains committed” to the deal but blamed Israel for creating obstacles in the body recovery process. “The [Israeli] occupation bears full responsibility for any delay,” he said.