Israel Threatens to Resume Gaza War After Palestinian Resistance Kills Two Soldiers

After Palestinian resistance fighters killed two Israeli soldiers in Rafah, Israel struck Gaza with heavy air raids that killed dozens of Palestinians and briefly shut aid crossings.

“US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following recent violence in Gaza that threatened a fragile US-brokered ceasefire”

Dunya News

These actions directly punished civilians while Israel claimed they were retaliatory measures.

Dunya News

Western mainstream sources report different death tolls from the Israeli strikes: at least 36 Palestinians, including children (Scripps News), 45 killed (France 24), and 28 killed (Daily Sabah).

Israeli outlets and Western mainstream coverage also confirm Israel temporarily closed Rafah to enable the Israel Defense Forces to retaliate.

Officials insisted the ceasefire “remained in effect” and would be enforced despite the strikes.

Hamas denied ordering the attack, with multiple outlets noting claims that a rogue faction acted independently.

However, Israel used the killings of its soldiers as a pretext for extensive bombing that hit Gaza neighborhoods and killed families.

Israeli leaders indicated they might restart the Gaza conflict by enforcing a newly established “yellow line” with lethal measures.

Israeli tanks reportedly killed three Palestinians near this pullback line.

Daily Sabah

Defense Minister Israel Katz warned militants to leave areas under Israeli control or face being targeted without warning.

Israeli and regional media reported these developments amid efforts by allies to prevent further escalation.

Former Trump administration officials expressed concern that Netanyahu could abandon the ceasefire and launch a full-scale assault.

U.S. envoys arrived to try to prevent Israel from resuming the war.

Sky News highlighted the hard stance by quoting Trump’s threat to “eradicate” Hamas.

The Kuwait Times described confusion around the yellow line, which has resulted in civilians being shot.

This situation illustrates how Israel’s rules of engagement are placing Palestinians at significant risk.

The ceasefire’s prisoner-and-remains exchanges are fracturing under Israeli conditions and disputed numbers.

“Former President Donald Trump stated that Hamas will be "eradicated" if it violates the current agreement in Gaza”

La Nación

France 24 reports that Hamas has returned 12 of 28 pledged hostage bodies, with more expected.

Dunya News says Hamas has returned 13 bodies and 20 surviving hostages, and that Israel returned 150 Palestinian bodies.

Digital Journal and Spectrum News corroborate that exchanges are part of the deal and that Israel received another hostage’s remains as it resumed aid deliveries.

ABC News adds that the Red Cross transferred a deceased Israeli hostage’s coffin for identification and confirms the IDF identified Sgt. Maj. Tal Haimi’s body.

World Israel News says Israel will not begin the next negotiation phase until Hamas returns all bodies, turning the remains issue into a veto on progress and aid access.

Israel’s bombing and shooting has devastated civilians and aid flows even as officials claim the ceasefire still exists.

Western Mainstream and West Asian sources detail that Israeli airstrikes killed more than 40 Palestinians over the weekend in retaliation for the killing of two soldiers.

France 24

Broader war totals show over 68,000 Palestinians killed—mostly women and children.

Aid corridors were repeatedly throttled: Israel temporarily halted humanitarian aid and closed Rafah and Kerem Shalom before partially reopening them.

Palestinians scrambling to survive face panic buying and price spikes as they try to return to shattered neighborhoods and tents.

These accounts make clear that Israel is carrying out lethal operations that keep killing Palestinians during a supposed truce, while aid trickles in insufficiently.

Washington is trying to head off Israel’s threatened return to full-scale war by pushing a post-war plan and foreign-backed governance for Gaza.

“Former President Donald Trump commented on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, describing Hamas as violent and warning that if their aggressive actions continue, Israel will respond quickly and forcefully”

The Hindu

Several West Asian sources warn that disarmament schemes are unrealistic and that sidelining Hamas while expecting its cooperation is contradictory.

The Hindu

The Globe and Mail and Spectrum News detail a U.S.-backed proposal to replace Hamas with an internationally supported authority.

KATV and Digital Journal say the U.S. wants Gulf states to bankroll reconstruction while pressing for Hamas disarmament.

Kuwait Times and Dunya News note calls for Gulf help with security frameworks tied to disarmament.

Arab News PK argues such models fail—as with Hezbollah in Lebanon—and experts it quotes say excluding Hamas from governance while expecting it to approve reconstruction is contradictory.

Arab News underscores that only a credible path to a two-state solution can anchor any durable peace.