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Israel launched a new wave of airstrikes against Hamas on Thursday, reportedly killing 27 people, after the IDF accused the terror group of testing the military border zone “daily” — all actions that threaten to undo the fragile cease-fire in Gaza, mediators warned.
Fighting allegedly broke out between Hamas fighters and Israeli soldiers operating in Khan Younis along the so-called “Yellow Line” — the border that the Israeli Defense Forces pulled back to in Gaza — resulting in the Jewish state launching a fresh wave of bombardments in the Strip.
The assault killed at least 27 people and injured another 88, bringing the total Palestinian death toll since last month’s cease-fire came into effect to 307, according to the Hamas-controlled local ministry of health, whose estimates do not differentiate between terrorists and civilians.
Qatari mediators who helped put the cease-fire deal together are alarmed by the repeated fighting in Gaza and deadly airstrikes, which they warned could undo the already strained path to peace.
Qatar specifically condemned the “brutal attacks by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip… and considers them a dangerous escalation that threatens to undermine the cease-fire agreement,” its foreign ministry said in a statement.
Doha also called for the international community to unite to preserve the cease-fire and ensure that all-out war does not erupt inside Gaza.
The IDF, which still controls about 53% of Gaza, has accused Hamas of repeatedly violating the terms of President Trump’s cease-fire deal by going past the Yellow Line, a border demarcated by literal yellow blocks and paint that splits the Palestinian enclave in half.
Since the cease-fire went into effect on Oct. 10, Hamas has allegedly trespassed the military border daily and engaged in multiple fights with IDF troops, allegations the terror group has denied.
There have been at least three major conflicts along the Yellow Line since the cease-fire began, including one that saw two IDF soldiers killed, with Israel retaliating with airstrikes every time.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, who operates at a base near the Yellow Line inside Gaza City, said there have been hundreds of Hamas violations during the cease-fire.
“Hamas tests us daily,” he told the Times of Israel during a tour of the border on Wednesday.
Shoshani also warned that the alleged attacks from Hamas was proof that the terror group would not cede its weapons as demanded in the US-backed peace deal.
The renewed tensions come just two days after the UN Security Council voted to approve the introduction of an international board to govern and police the Gaza Strip, as laid out in Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
Despite the approval, there remains lingering questions over which nations would commit to sending its forces to deal with Hamas, which has repeatedly stated that it would not disarm until a pathway is established for a Palestinian state.
