Two Israeli soldiers and a reported 44 Palestinians dead as ceasefire threatens to collapse: Netanyahu orders ‘wave of strikes’ on Gaza and stops aid after Hamas attacks
The fragile ceasefire in Gaza was hanging by a thread after Israel bombed the area again on Sunday in response to Hamas killing two of its soldiers.
Israel also announced that it had halted the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza until further notice after Hamas ‘clearly violated the agreement’.
The BBC said Gaza hospital sources claimed that 44 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Sunday. However, Israel said it would continue to implement the ceasefire.
The bombings took place after Hamas attacked Israeli soldiers behind the agreed yellow line of control ‘at least three times’.
In one of these incidents in Rafah, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that ‘a group of terrorist organizations came out of a tunnel and fired RPGs at an excavator clearing Hamas’ infrastructure’.
The two soldiers who died in the attack were Major Yaniv Kula (26) and Staff Sergeant Itay Yavetz (21). One soldier was also injured.
The IDF also accused the terror group of hunting down and “publicly executing” Palestinian civilians, whom it accused of being “collaborators.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered ‘tough action’ in response to ceasefire violations.
Smoke rises after an Israeli attack targeting a building in the Bureij camp of Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on October 19, 2025
Israeli soldiers Major Yaniv Kula (left) and Staff Sgt. Itay Yavetz was killed in an attack in the south of the Gaza Strip on October 19, 2025.
People run for cover after Israel’s attack on a building in the Bureij camp of Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on October 19, 2025
Hamas later denied that it was responsible for these three incidents.
In last night’s update, an IDF official said: ‘Hamas has repeatedly violated its terms by escalating its brutality against Gazans and continuing to retain the bodies of our 16 hostages. Videos circulated showing Hamas hunting down Gazans and executing them in broad daylight.
‘In accordance with the directive of the political level, humanitarian aid shipments to the Gaza Strip have been suspended until further notice.’
The ceasefire agreement promised that Israel would allow 600 aid trucks to enter Gaza every day.
However, even before last night’s suspension, this number had been halved due to Hamas not returning all the dead hostages in time.
Israeli defense minister Israel Katz said: ‘We have instructed the IDF to act forcefully against Hamas terrorist targets in Gaza. Hamas will pay a heavy price for every ceasefire or violation of the ceasefire, and if the message is not understood, the severity of the reactions will increase.’
In a statement made by Netanyahu’s office, it was stated that the reopening of the key humanitarian aid route through the Rafah border to Gaza will depend on how Hamas fulfills its ceasefire role of returning the remains of the 28 dead hostages.
Last week, Hamas handed over 13 bodies, 12 of which were determined to be hostages.
