Ceasefire Unraveling? Netanyahu Orders ‘Powerful’ Strikes On Gaza

“Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the military echelon to carry out immediate and powerful strikes in the Gaza Strip,” a statement issued moments ago by the Prime Minister’s office indicates.

“Following security consultations, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the military to immediately carry out powerful strikes in the Gaza Strip,” a statement from his office says. Netanyahu has accused Hamas of committing a “clear violation” of the ceasefire deal.

Though the past over 2-weeks in which the Hamas ceasefire has held has witnessed intermittent flare-ups in fighting, this could be the big one which unravels the whole thing.

Less than an hour before the new strikes were ordered by Netanyahu, Fox News’ Trey Yingst reported, “Hamas violated the ceasefire by attacking IDF soldiers in Rafah, I’m told by an Israeli military official.”

• SHEKEL HITS SESSION LOW AS NETANYAHU INSTRUCTS ON GAZA STRIKES
• HAMAS SAYS POSTPONES TODAY’S HANDOVER OF ISRAELI HOSTAGE BODY

Expect the blame-game to begin, as IDF strikes resume in the Gaza Strip once again. Since the ceasefire has been on, however, some 100 Palestinians have died.

Axios reviews of the latest developments:

• The Trump administration has been focusing over the last several weeks on stabilizing the ceasefire and pressing both parties to avoid steps that could detonate it.
• As part of that mission, the White House sent several top officials to Israel and established a U.S. command center in Israel to oversee it and monitor the situation on the ground.
• But a deepening dispute over the return of deceased hostages by Hamas, and a firefight on Tuesday in the city of Rafah, intensified calls in Israel for military action. The strikes Netanyahu ordered could rupture the ceasefire altogether.

The question over the remaining deceased hostage bodies has renewed put pressure on the Netanyahu government to not move on to the second phase of ceasefire:

The families of Israeli hostages on Monday demanded that the next steps in the US-brokered Gaza peace plan be put on hold until Hamas returns the remaining bodies of dead captives.

“Hamas knows exactly where every one of the deceased hostages is held. Two weeks have passed since the deadline set in the agreement for the return of all 48 hostages, yet 13 remain in Hamas captivity,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.

developing…