🇮🇱 Israeli Strikes Kill 33 in Gaza as Trump Insists Ceasefire Still Holds

🇮🇱 Israeli Strikes Kill 33 in Gaza, Trump Maintains Ceasefire Intact

GAZA CITY

GAZA CITY — At least 33 Palestinians were killed Tuesday night in a series of Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defence and local hospitals.

Israel said the strikes were a response to ceasefire violations by Hamas, accusing the group of a deadly attack in southern Gaza that killed an Israeli soldier. Hamas, however, denied any role, saying it remains committed to the truce.

US President Donald Trump reiterated that “nothing will jeopardize the ceasefire,” but added that Israel has a right to retaliate if its soldiers are attacked.

Waves of Strikes Across Gaza

Airstrikes hit residential buildings, schools, and refugee camps in Gaza City, Beit Lahia, Bureij, Nuseirat, and Khan Younis.
Eyewitnesses described “pillars of fire and smoke” rising from bombed neighborhoods, while rescuers struggled through the night to recover survivors.

In Gaza City, 14 people were killed, including women and children, when missiles struck the al-Banna family home.
In Bureij refugee camp, five members of the Abu Sharar family died when their house was hit.
And in Khan Younis, another five people were killed in an airstrike targeting a vehicle.

A Civil Defence spokesperson said,

“We are working amid extremely difficult conditions. Dozens are missing under the rubble.”

Israel Vows Retaliation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to launch “forceful strikes,” while Defence Minister Israel Katz accused Hamas of crossing a “bright red line.”

“Hamas will pay many times over for attacking our soldiers and breaking the deal,” Katz declared.

The Israeli army later confirmed that Master Sergeant Yona Efraim Feldbaum, a reservist soldier, was killed in Rafah when militants ambushed a military engineering unit using rocket-propelled grenades.

Ceasefire on the Brink

The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, aimed to end months of fighting and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. But these latest events have pushed the fragile truce to the brink of collapse.

Trump, speaking from Washington, maintained his position:

“The ceasefire remains. But if soldiers are killed, Israel must defend itself.”

With both sides blaming each other, civilians in Gaza once again bear the heaviest toll — as the cycle of violence threatens to resume.