The fragile ceasefire in Gaza appeared on the verge of collapse Sunday as Israel launched a “wave of strikes” across the strip, leaving at least 51 Palestinians dead, including numerous children, and cut off the flow of humanitarian aid. The escalation, which Israel said followed a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement,” came just days after a separate incident in which Israeli forces killed 11 members of a Palestinian family attempting to return home during the truce.
The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that it has “now begun a wave of strikes” in southern Gaza “following a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement earlier today” by Hamas, whose fighters were accused of killing two Israeli occupation troops and wounding three others in Rafah on Sunday morning.
Gaza officials reported that the Israeli strikes killed at least 51 people across the strip, with attacks targeting civilian and residential areas. Among the incidents listed were a double-tap drone and missile strike on a café west of Deir al-Balah that killed five people, all reportedly civilians; an airstrike on the al-Bureij refugee camp that killed four civilians; an airstrike on the Sardi school that killed four displaced civilians; artillery shelling that killed six civilians on al-Zawaida Beach; and the bombing of a building housing journalists in al-Zawaida that killed two civilians.
The US State Department on Saturday accused Hamas of planning an attack on Palestinian civilians in Gaza “in grave violation of the ceasefire.” Hamas rejected the accusation, calling it a fabrication designed to excuse Israeli aggression. In a statement Sunday, the group said the US allegations were “lies that fully align with the misleading Israeli propaganda and provide cover for the continuation of the occupation’s crimes and organized aggression” against Palestinians. Hamas urged the US to “stop repeating the occupation’s misleading narrative and to focus on curbing its repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, Israel has violated the nine-day ceasefire at least 48 times, including by bombing residential areas and killing civilians approaching the so-called “yellow line” that marks the boundary Israeli forces were to withdraw behind under the truce. Scores of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli bombs and bullets since the ceasefire took effect on October 10.
Among the deadliest violations came Friday evening, when Israeli forces killed 11 members of a single family traveling by bus through the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City. Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said that Israel Defense Forces troops fired a tank shell at the bus, which was carrying members of the Abu Shaaban family who were returning to inspect their home. “The family could have been warned or dealt with in a way that did not lead to murder,” Basal said. “What happened confirms that the occupation remains thirsty for blood and determined to commit crimes against innocent civilians.”
The IDF claimed the bus was a “suspicious vehicle” that had crossed the “yellow line” and said troops fired warning shots before taking action to “remove the threat.” Basal rejected that explanation, saying the incident demonstrated Israel’s disregard for civilian life and the ceasefire’s terms.
The Gaza Government Media Office said Saturday that Israeli forces have broken the truce 47 times, killing 38 people and wounding 143 others “in clear and blatant violation of the ceasefire decision and the principles of international humanitarian law.”
Israel’s government responded to what it called “Hamas violations” by closing off crossing points into Gaza, blocking all humanitarian aid deliveries. The decision has worsened what Gaza aid groups describe as near-famine conditions caused by the ongoing siege imposed since the start of Israel’s offensive two years ago. The blockade, first enforced under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, continues to deprive civilians of food, medicine, and clean water.
Amjad Al-Shawwa, who heads the Network of Civil Society Organizations in Gaza, warned Sunday that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians—particularly pregnant women and children—are suffering severe malnutrition. At least hundreds of Gazans, he said, have already died from malnutrition and related causes.
In Washington, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned Israel’s renewed airstrikes, saying: “Since the start of the ceasefire, the Netanyahu regime has been itching to fully restart the genocide in Gaza.” The organization called the attacks “a blatant violation of President [Donald] Trump’s ceasefire agreement and a resumption of the genocide,” urging, “President Trump must rein in the Israeli occupation forces and stop sending American weapons and American taxpayer dollars to fund Israel’s war machine.”
CAIR also condemned the Friday bus attack, saying: “The Israeli government’s massacre of a family traveling to assess the remains of their home is the latest deliberate and blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement. The Trump administration must demand that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu stop using American taxpayer dollars and American weapons to sabotage the ceasefire agreement that America brokered so that he can restart the genocide in Gaza.”
The organization further called on the State Department and the United Nations to investigate “horrific signs of torture and extrajudicial killing found on the bodies of returned Palestinian hostages,” stating: “Torturing people to death after kidnapping them and holding them without charge is another example of [breaking] not only international law, but also US law related to foreign aid recipients.”
A senior Egyptian official told The Guardian that “round-the-clock” negotiations are underway to salvage the ceasefire and prevent a return to full-scale warfare. Yet, with each day’s new strikes and reports of civilian casualties, prospects for restoring calm appear increasingly remote.
Since October 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry has recorded at least 68,116 Palestinians killed and more than 170,200 wounded. Around 9,500 more remain missing and are believed to be buried beneath rubble. Leaked data from the Israel Defense Forces reportedly indicate that more than 80% of those killed were civilians.
As renewed bombings and aid restrictions take hold, humanitarian organizations warn that Gaza’s population—already devastated by two years of siege and bombardment—is again facing mass starvation and systemic collapse. Whether the current ceasefire can survive the mounting violations remains uncertain.
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