30 Feared Dead In Gaza As Israel Strikes; US VP Calls It ‘Skirmishes’
At least 30 people have been killed in renewed Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, shattering a fragile, US-brokered ceasefire that had been in place for just over two weeks. Gaza’s civil defence agency confirmed the death toll on Wednesday, stating that its crews were still working to recover the dead and wounded from under the rubble after a night of intense bombardment. The strikes came after the Israeli military accused Hamas of attacking its troops and violating the truce.However, in a statement that starkly contrasts with the ground reality, US Vice President JD Vance downplayed the violence, calling the renewed attacks “little skirmishes” and insisting that the “ceasefire was holding.” Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Vance said, “We know that Hamas or somebody else within Gaza attacked an (Israeli) soldier.
We expect the Israelis to respond, but I think the President’s peace is going to hold despite that.” His comments came as local health authorities in Gaza reported at least 26 fatalities, including in strikes on a house in the Bureij refugee camp and a car in Khan Younis.The latest round of violence erupted after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire on multiple fronts. Netanyahu claimed Hamas had turned over the “wrong remains” of a hostage, Ofir Tzarfati, whose body had already been partially recovered by Israeli forces during the war. This, along with an alleged attack on Israeli troops, was cited by Israel as a breach of the agreement.Hamas, in turn, has accused Netanyahu of looking for excuses to back away from Israel’s obligations under the truce.
The group’s armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, initially postponed a planned handover of another hostage body, citing Israeli violations, before later announcing it had recovered the bodies of two other Israeli hostages, Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch.
The US-backed ceasefire had been in effect since October 10, bringing a halt to a two-year war that began with a deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Under the terms of the deal, Hamas had released all its living hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, while Israel had pulled back its troops from Gaza. The current escalation now puts the entire agreement in jeopardy.
