Netanyahu orders massive immediate raids on the Strip. Gaza City and Rafah hit

However, US Vice President Vance professes optimism that 'the ceasefire is holding and peace in the Middle East will hold despite the skirmishes'.

Israel had informed the US prior to its latest attacks in Gaza. The Associated Press reports this, writes Al-Jazeera, citing two anonymous US officials. Prime Minister Netanyahu's order for air strikes came after Israel claimed that its soldiers were hit in southern Gaza by Palestinian gunmen. Hamas has denied any involvement. 'We know that Hamas or someone else in Gaza attacked a soldier,' US Vice President JD Vance had commented, 'We expect the Israelis to retaliate, but I believe the president's peace will endure in spite of this.

Hamas has, however, postponed the handover of the body of one of the hostages, which was scheduled for the evening, after what it called Israeli 'violations' of the US-brokered ceasefire. 'We will postpone the handover scheduled for today due to the violations of the occupation,' the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said in a note, adding that any 'Israeli escalation will hinder the search and recovery of the bodies'. Hamas' announcement came minutes after Benjamin Netanyahu ordered intense attacks on the Strip.

Suhail al-Hindi, a member of Hamas's political bureau in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that the group is facing "serious difficulties" in recovering the bodies of Israeli prisoners and reiterated its demand for means to facilitate this process. "Israel must realise that we are committed to the agreement and must stop falsely accusing us of violating it," al Hindi said, adding that Hamas has asked for search teams to enter the "red zones" to locate the bodies, a request that has been refused.

"Yesterday, the World Health Organisation led another medical evacuation of 55 critically ill patients from Gaza to receive specialist care abroad, including Jordan, Spain and Turkey. 158 escorts travelled with them. We thank the government of Jordan and the European Union for their support," the World Health Organisation director appealed,

More than 16,500 patients have yet to leave Gaza to receive life-saving treatment. We continue to call on countries to show solidarity and accept more patients from Gaza, and to open all medical evacuation routes, in particular the West Bank, including the transfer route to East Jerusalem. We have no time to lose!" WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote this on X.

The coffin handed over by Hamas to Israel last night contains the remains of a hostage whose body had already been brought back to Israel for burial. The remains do not belong to any of the 13 hostages currently still being held in the Gaza Strip, writes the Times of Israel. The assessment was made by the authorities following the completion of identification operations at the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Tel Aviv.

The remains handed over yesterday by Hamas, in fact, at 11:30 a.m. today it was learned are of the hostage Ofir Tzarfati, whose body was recovered by the Israeli army (IDF) in the Gaza Strip in December 2023, less than two months after his abduction during the 7 October Hamas attack. Tzarfati's family was informed by military representatives that more remains of his body had been returned. The Israeli Prime Minister's office said in a note that "this is a clear violation of the agreement" by Hamas, as it is obliged to return the bodies of the 13 hostages killed and still in the Gaza Strip. The Times of Israel reported this.

By yesterday evening, Hamas had handed over the body to the Red Cross, which then transferred it to the Israeli military in Gaza.

"The fact that Hamas continues to play games and does not immediately transfer all the bodies of our fallen is in itself proof that the terrorist organisation is still standing," stated the National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end indecision: "Mr. Prime Minister, no more hesitation. Give the order!" The statements come as Hamas appears - according to Israeli media rumours - to have handed over previously returned remains instead of the body of one of the other 13 hostages still in the Gaza Strip.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also called for tougher measures, writing to Netanyahu to "urgently convene the security cabinet today to discuss and formulate a package of determined and decisive responses" and reiterating that "the central aim of the war is the destruction of Hamas and the elimination of the threat that Gaza poses to the citizens of Israel." Smotrich added that "Hamas cannot be allowed to mock the citizens of Israel and play cruelly with the feelings of the families of the fallen."