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Tag: yellow line

  • IDF to increase Gaza border security due to smuggling risks

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    IDF officials identified Hamas’s struggle in Gaza, after more than two years of war have left it without stocks of standard explosives, to obtain weapons as well as additional equipment.

    The IDF announced it will deploy military police at crossings along the border fence between Israel and Gaza, in an attempt to prevent smuggling by inspecting military vehicles and the belongings of Defense Ministry contractors operating in the Yellow Line area.

    IDF officials identified Hamas’s struggle in Gaza, after more than two years of war have left it without stocks of standard explosives, to obtain weapons as well as additional equipment intended for its future military buildup.

    The Southern Command, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and police understand that Hamas’s need for equipment is driving it to seek out actors inside Israel who will help supply what it lacks, including by establishing contact with Bedouin or Arab Israeli elements who have ties to contacts in Gaza. From there, the process develops through the construction of smuggling routes, some of which rely on soldiers, contractor employees, and officials operating in the Yellow Line area around Gaza.

    On Monday, the police informed the Southern District Court that the State Attorney’s Office would file dozens of indictments against 16 suspects allegedly involved in smuggling to Gaza. As of now, the police, the Shin Bet, and the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division are handling two significant smuggling cases into Gaza. In parallel, there are investigations into the removal of weapons from IDF storage sites along the Yellow Line into Israel, with some of them ending up in criminal hands.

    In recent weeks, Southern Command, under Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor and the Gaza Division 143, under Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram has led a move to tighten supervision of movement at crossings between Israel and Gaza.

    HUNDREDS OF packets of cigarettes being smuggled. (credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)

    There are two types of crossings along the border with Gaza. The first are regulated crossings for the transfer of goods, operated by the Defense Ministry, including the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings. Oversight at these crossings is regulated and strict, and includes technological measures to prevent smuggling. The second type of crossings is “operational gates,” gates along the fence through which IDF forces, contractors, and suppliers of military equipment cross from Israel into the Yellow Line area.

    It was decided to install technological systems at the crossings to monitor entries. It was also decided that the gates would remain locked around the clock, and only when entry is required would a sector patrol arrive with the keys.

    Only after a name check would be conducted and cross-referenced with the sector command center list, confirming that everyone in the vehicle is approved and that their entry into the Yellow Line has been coordinated, would authorization be given for the patrol to open the gate.

    Southern Command allocates military police to West Bank crossings, Gaza border

    In parallel, Southern Command decided to deploy military police forces trained in inspections to crossings in the West Bank and along the Gaza border. The aim is to increase supervision by conducting inspections of vehicles entering and exiting, exactly as the IDF did during the period when it held the security zone in Lebanon, or at entry crossings such as the Fatima Gate in Metula or at the Rosh Hanikra crossing, where military police carried out checks to prevent smuggling.

    At the same time, the IDF says this is a preventive activity that will be prioritized by the Shin Bet, the police, the Intelligence Directorate, and the Defense Ministry.

    The IDF is determined to act forcefully against attempts to develop smuggling routes from Israel to Gaza through the crossings, based on the understanding that Hamas will continue in the coming period to try to induce Israelis to cross the lines and smuggle into Gaza tobacco products, cigarettes, drugs, mobile phones, drones, explosive materials, weapons, and more.

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  • Israeli troops kill Palestinians for crossing a vague ceasefire line

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    A dividing line, at times invisible, can mean life or death for Palestinians in Gaza.Those sheltering near the territory’s “yellow line” that the Israeli military withdrew to as part of the October ceasefire say they live in fear as Israeli soldiers direct near-daily fire at anyone who crosses or even lingers near it.Video above: Palestinians struggle for food amid floodingOf the 447 Palestinians killed between the ceasefire taking effect and Tuesday, at least 77 were killed by Israeli gunfire near the line, including 62 who crossed it, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Among them were teenagers and young children, The Associated Press found.And although the military has placed some yellow barrels and concrete barriers delineating the limits of the Palestinian zone, the line is still unmarked in certain places and in others was laid nearly half a kilometer (0.3 miles) deeper than what was agreed to in the ceasefire deal, expanding the part of Gaza that Israel controls, according to Palestinians and mapping experts.“We stay away from the barrels. No one dares to get close” said Gaza City resident Ahmed Abu Jahal, noting that the markers are less than 100 meters (110 yards) from his house — instead of the roughly 500 meters (546 yards) outlined in a map put out by the Israeli military.As of Tuesday, the military had acknowledged killing 57 people around the yellow line, saying most were militants. It said its troops are complying with the rules of engagement in order to counter militant groups, and are informing Palestinians of the line’s location and marking it on the ground to “reduce friction and prevent misunderstandings.”Easy to get lostUnder the ceasefire, Israel withdrew its troops to a buffer zone that is up to 7 kilometers (4 miles) deep and includes most of Gaza’s arable land, its elevated points and all of its border crossings. That hems more than 2 million Palestinians into a strip along the coastline and central Gaza.People of all ages, some already dead, have been showing up almost daily at the emergency room of Gaza City’s Al-Ahli hospital with bullet wounds from straying near the line, said hospital director Fadel Naeem.Amid the vast destruction in Gaza, the demarcation line often isn’t easy to detect, Naeem said. He recounted picking his way through undamaged paths during a recent visit to the southern city of Khan Younis. He didn’t notice he was almost across the line until locals shouted at him to turn back, he said.The Israeli military said most of the people it has killed crossing the line posed a threat to its troops. According to a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military rules, troops issue audible warnings and then fire warning shots whenever someone crosses the line. Many civilians retreat when warning shots are fired, though some have been killed, the official acknowledged.Killed while playing near the lineZaher Shamia, 17, lived with his grandfather in a tent 300 meters (330 yards) from the line in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp. On Dec. 10, he was playing with his cousin and some friends near the line, according to video he took before his death.Suddenly, shots rang out and the video stopped. Soldiers approaching the line with an armored bulldozer had fired on the teens, hitting Zaher, said a witness.A neighbor eventually found Zaher’s body, which had been crushed by the bulldozer, said Zaher’s grandfather, Kamal al-Beih: “We only recognized him from his head.”Two doctors, Mohamed Abu Selmiya and Rami Mhanna, confirmed that the teen had been killed by gunshots and then run over by a bulldozer. The military official said he was aware that Shamia was a civilian and that the military was looking into it.Maram Atta said that on Dec. 7, her 3-year-old daughter, Ahed al-Bayouk, was playing with siblings outside of their tent, which was near the yellow line along Gaza’s southern coast. Atta was preparing lentils when she heard aircraft overhead, then shots.A stray projectile whizzed close to her and struck Ahed, who was dead before they reached the clinic.“I lost my daughter to what they keep calling a ‘ceasefire’” said Atta, crying. “What ceasefire are they talking about?”A military official denied the killing.Deadly ambiguityThe line’s exact location is ambiguous, differing on maps put out by the Israeli military and the White House.Neither matches the line troops appear to be marking on the ground, according to Palestinians and geolocation specialists.Video below: Palestinians react to UN plan for Gaza futureChris Osiek, an open source intelligence analyst and consultant, has geolocated a number of yellow blocks based on social media videos. He found at least four urban areas where troops set the blocks several hundred meters deeper into Gaza than the military map-specified yellow line.“This is basically what you get when you simply let Trump make an image and post it on Truth Social and let the IDF make their own,” he said, using the acronym for the military. “If it’s not a proper system, with coordinates that make it easy for people to navigate where it is, then you leave the ambiguity free for the IDF to interpret the yellow line how they basically want.”The military official dismissed such criticism, saying any deviations from the map amount to just a few meters. But to Palestinians hemmed in by widespread destruction and displacement, every few meters lost is another house that can’t be sheltered in — another they doubt will ever be returned.‘The line is getting very close’Under the ceasefire, Israeli forces are only supposed to remain at the yellow line until a fuller withdrawal, though the agreement doesn’t give a timeline for that. With the next steps in the deal lagging and troops digging into positions on the Israeli side, though, Palestinians wonder if they are witnessing a permanent land takeover.In December, Israel’s defense minister described the yellow line as “a new border line — serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity.”The military has continued leveling buildings inside the Israeli-held zone, turning already damaged neighborhoods to moonscapes. Almost all of the city of Rafah, on Gaza’s border with Egypt, has been razed over the past year. The army says this is necessary to destroy tunnels and prepare the area for reconstruction.In some places, demolitions since the ceasefire have encroached beyond the official yellow line. Since November, troops have leveled a swath of Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood extending some 300 meters (330 yards) outside the Israeli-held zone, according to Oct. 14 and Dec. 18 satellite photos provided by Planet Labs.Video below: Israeli settlers forcibly enter Palestinian home, kill sheep in latest West Bank attackAbu Jahal moved back to his damaged house in Tuffah at the ceasefire’s start. He said he frequently saw new yellow barrels appear and the military forcing out anyone living on its side of the markers.On Jan. 7, Israeli fire hit a house near him, and the residents had to evacuate, he said. Abu Jahal said his family — including his wife, their child, and seven other relatives — may also have to leave soon.“The line is getting very close,” he said.

    CAIRO, Cairo Governorate —

    A dividing line, at times invisible, can mean life or death for Palestinians in Gaza.

    Those sheltering near the territory’s “yellow line” that the Israeli military withdrew to as part of the October ceasefire say they live in fear as Israeli soldiers direct near-daily fire at anyone who crosses or even lingers near it.

    Video above: Palestinians struggle for food amid flooding

    Of the 447 Palestinians killed between the ceasefire taking effect and Tuesday, at least 77 were killed by Israeli gunfire near the line, including 62 who crossed it, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Among them were teenagers and young children, The Associated Press found.

    And although the military has placed some yellow barrels and concrete barriers delineating the limits of the Palestinian zone, the line is still unmarked in certain places and in others was laid nearly half a kilometer (0.3 miles) deeper than what was agreed to in the ceasefire deal, expanding the part of Gaza that Israel controls, according to Palestinians and mapping experts.

    “We stay away from the barrels. No one dares to get close” said Gaza City resident Ahmed Abu Jahal, noting that the markers are less than 100 meters (110 yards) from his house — instead of the roughly 500 meters (546 yards) outlined in a map put out by the Israeli military.

    As of Tuesday, the military had acknowledged killing 57 people around the yellow line, saying most were militants. It said its troops are complying with the rules of engagement in order to counter militant groups, and are informing Palestinians of the line’s location and marking it on the ground to “reduce friction and prevent misunderstandings.”

    Easy to get lost

    Under the ceasefire, Israel withdrew its troops to a buffer zone that is up to 7 kilometers (4 miles) deep and includes most of Gaza’s arable land, its elevated points and all of its border crossings. That hems more than 2 million Palestinians into a strip along the coastline and central Gaza.

    People of all ages, some already dead, have been showing up almost daily at the emergency room of Gaza City’s Al-Ahli hospital with bullet wounds from straying near the line, said hospital director Fadel Naeem.

    Amid the vast destruction in Gaza, the demarcation line often isn’t easy to detect, Naeem said. He recounted picking his way through undamaged paths during a recent visit to the southern city of Khan Younis. He didn’t notice he was almost across the line until locals shouted at him to turn back, he said.

    The Israeli military said most of the people it has killed crossing the line posed a threat to its troops. According to a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military rules, troops issue audible warnings and then fire warning shots whenever someone crosses the line. Many civilians retreat when warning shots are fired, though some have been killed, the official acknowledged.

    Killed while playing near the line

    Zaher Shamia, 17, lived with his grandfather in a tent 300 meters (330 yards) from the line in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp. On Dec. 10, he was playing with his cousin and some friends near the line, according to video he took before his death.

    Suddenly, shots rang out and the video stopped. Soldiers approaching the line with an armored bulldozer had fired on the teens, hitting Zaher, said a witness.

    Jehad Alshrafi

    FILE – The body of 11-year-old Palestinian girl Hamsa Hosou, killed by Israeli fire in Jabalia, is brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026.

    A neighbor eventually found Zaher’s body, which had been crushed by the bulldozer, said Zaher’s grandfather, Kamal al-Beih: “We only recognized him from his head.”

    Two doctors, Mohamed Abu Selmiya and Rami Mhanna, confirmed that the teen had been killed by gunshots and then run over by a bulldozer. The military official said he was aware that Shamia was a civilian and that the military was looking into it.

    Maram Atta said that on Dec. 7, her 3-year-old daughter, Ahed al-Bayouk, was playing with siblings outside of their tent, which was near the yellow line along Gaza’s southern coast. Atta was preparing lentils when she heard aircraft overhead, then shots.

    A stray projectile whizzed close to her and struck Ahed, who was dead before they reached the clinic.

    “I lost my daughter to what they keep calling a ‘ceasefire’” said Atta, crying. “What ceasefire are they talking about?”

    A military official denied the killing.

    Deadly ambiguity

    The line’s exact location is ambiguous, differing on maps put out by the Israeli military and the White House.

    Neither matches the line troops appear to be marking on the ground, according to Palestinians and geolocation specialists.

    Video below: Palestinians react to UN plan for Gaza future

    Chris Osiek, an open source intelligence analyst and consultant, has geolocated a number of yellow blocks based on social media videos. He found at least four urban areas where troops set the blocks several hundred meters deeper into Gaza than the military map-specified yellow line.

    “This is basically what you get when you simply let Trump make an image and post it on Truth Social and let the IDF make their own,” he said, using the acronym for the military. “If it’s not a proper system, with coordinates that make it easy for people to navigate where it is, then you leave the ambiguity free for the IDF to interpret the yellow line how they basically want.”

    The military official dismissed such criticism, saying any deviations from the map amount to just a few meters. But to Palestinians hemmed in by widespread destruction and displacement, every few meters lost is another house that can’t be sheltered in — another they doubt will ever be returned.

    ‘The line is getting very close’

    Under the ceasefire, Israeli forces are only supposed to remain at the yellow line until a fuller withdrawal, though the agreement doesn’t give a timeline for that. With the next steps in the deal lagging and troops digging into positions on the Israeli side, though, Palestinians wonder if they are witnessing a permanent land takeover.

    In December, Israel’s defense minister described the yellow line as “a new border line — serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity.”

    The military has continued leveling buildings inside the Israeli-held zone, turning already damaged neighborhoods to moonscapes. Almost all of the city of Rafah, on Gaza’s border with Egypt, has been razed over the past year. The army says this is necessary to destroy tunnels and prepare the area for reconstruction.

    In some places, demolitions since the ceasefire have encroached beyond the official yellow line. Since November, troops have leveled a swath of Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood extending some 300 meters (330 yards) outside the Israeli-held zone, according to Oct. 14 and Dec. 18 satellite photos provided by Planet Labs.

    Video below: Israeli settlers forcibly enter Palestinian home, kill sheep in latest West Bank attack

    Abu Jahal moved back to his damaged house in Tuffah at the ceasefire’s start. He said he frequently saw new yellow barrels appear and the military forcing out anyone living on its side of the markers.

    On Jan. 7, Israeli fire hit a house near him, and the residents had to evacuate, he said. Abu Jahal said his family — including his wife, their child, and seven other relatives — may also have to leave soon.

    “The line is getting very close,” he said.

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  • IDF kills three Palestinians crossing Gaza’s Yellow Line in two incidents

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    IDF soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip, August 1, 2025. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON

    The first incident saw two suspects crossing and had “conducted suspicious activities on the ground,” the military said, as they also approached Israeli forces.

    The IDF killed a total of three suspects who crossed the IDF-controlled Yellow Line zone in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday morning, the military announced on Saturday afternoon.

    The first incident saw two suspects crossing who were said to have been conducting suspicious activities on the ground, the military said. The two men were approaching the soldiers before their deaths.

    The second incident, later on Saturday morning, saw a terrorist killed after he crossed the Yellow Line to approach Israeli soldiers.

    ‘Yellow Line’ ceasefire violations inside Gaza

    On Monday, the IDF killed multiple terrorists trying to cross the Yellow Line in Gaza.

    In the first incident, the military shared that it had identified a terrorist crossing the Yellow Line in the Khan Yunis area. Noting that the terrorist was approaching troops and posing a threat to soldiers, the military declared it had killed the terrorist.

    In a second incident, the IDF identified two terrorists trying to cross the Yellow Line in the northern Gaza Strip. These terrorists were also killed by the military, the IDF announced.

    This is a developing story.

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  • Katz: Israel working to kill Hamas terrorists, destroy tunnels in Gaza area under Israeli control

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    “The goal, alongside the return of all the hostages and the casualties, is to disarm Hamas of its weapons and demilitarize Gaza,” he said.

    The IDF is working to kill Hamas terrorists and destroy the organization’s tunnels that are located behind the Yellow Line, in Israel-controlled Gaza, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on social media on Wednesday.

    “Israel’s policy in Gaza is clear: The IDF is acting to destroy the tunnels and eliminate Hamas terrorists without any restrictions within the Yellow Line under our control. The goal, alongside the return of all the hostages and the casualties, is to disarm Hamas of its weapons and demilitarize Gaza,” he said.

    This follows similar statements made by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also stressed the need to kill the hundreds of terrorists on the Israeli side of Gaza’s Yellow Line in Rafah, stating that Israeli forces are close to eliminating them in the tunnels.

    Over the course of the last week, several terrorists have crossed the Yellow Line into Israel-controlled territory.

    Crossing Gaza’s Yellow Line

    On Tuesday, a terrorist was killed after he was identified crossing the demarcation line and approaching IDF soldiers in the northern Gaza Strip.

    A similar incident occurred on Monday afternoon, when Israeli air and ground forces struck a number of terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line and approached an IDF position in southern Gaza.

    On Sunday, another Palestinian terrorist attempted to cross the Yellow Line.

    The Yellow Line was established as part of the US-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

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  • IDF destroys hundred-meter long tunnel, rocket depot in northern Gaza

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    Two operations in northern Gaza were conducted and dismantled Hamas infrastructure, while undercover operations in the West Bank managed to detain Hamas operatives in Nablus.

    The IDF destroyed a Hamas compound in the Shejaia, northern Gaza, containing launchers and rockets, while a tunnel hundreds of meters long was located and destroyed in Jabaliya, the military said on Tuesday.

    “Since the ceasefire agreement came into effect, IDF soldiers from the 11th Brigade identified a compound containing launchers, rockets, and launch positions belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the center of the Shejaia area in northern Gaza,” the IDF stated.

    “An underground tunnel route spanning hundreds of meters long and tens of meters deep was located in the Jabaliya area and dismantled by soldiers from the 188th Brigade, together with Yahalom soldiers,” the statement also specified.

    In a separate operation, soldiers from the elite Duvdevan unit, under the direction of the Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency), arrested two terrorists who were hiding in neighborhoods of the city of Nablus.

    IDF soldiers operate in the West Bank, July 25, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)

    “Two wanted terrorists identified with the Hamas terrorist organization in the Balata camp and the village of Masachen in Sha’biyah,” the military specified.

    Hezbollah rearming at an alarming pace

    In the northern front, a classified report shared in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in the Knesset stated that Hezbollah’s rearming rate was faster than the current attacks against it by the IDF.

    The report specified that Hezbollah is strengthening its forces at a faster pace than the IDF is managing to hit it, with the blows inflicted during the last war starting to wear off as the organization recomposes its forces.

    Amichai Stein contributed to this report.

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  • Israel says transfer of aid into Gaza is halted ‘until further notice’ as ceasefire faces major test

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    The fragile ceasefire in Gaza faced its first major test Sunday as an Israeli security official said the transfer of aid into the territory is halted “until further notice” after a Hamas ceasefire violation, and Israeli forces launched a wave of strikes.The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement on the halt in aid, which is occurring a little over a week since the start of the U.S.-proposed ceasefire aimed at ending two years of war.Israel’s military earlier Sunday said its troops came under fire from Hamas militants in southern Gaza. Health officials said at least 19 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes in central and southern Gaza.Israel’s military said it had struck dozens of what it called Hamas targets.A senior Egyptian official involved in the ceasefire negotiations said “round-the-clock” contacts were underway to de-escalate the situation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to reporters.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed the military to take “strong action” against any ceasefire violations but didn’t threaten to return to war.Israel’s military said militants fired at troops in areas of Rafah city that are Israeli-controlled according to the agreed-upon ceasefire lines. No injuries were reported. The military said Israel responded with airstrikes and artillery.Hamas, which continued to accuse Israel of multiple ceasefire violations, said communication with its remaining units in Rafah had been cut off for months and “we are not responsible for any incidents occurring in those areas.”Shortly before sunset, Israel’s military said it had begun a series of airstrikes in southern Gaza against what it called Hamas targets. It also said its forces struck “terrorists” approaching troops in Beit Lahiya in the north.Strikes in GazaAn Israeli airstrike killed at least six Palestinians in central Gaza, health officials said. The strike hit a makeshift coffeehouse on the coastal side of the town of Zawaida, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government.Another Israeli strike killed at least two people close to the Al-Ahly soccer club in the Nuseirat refugee camp, the ministry said. The strike hit a tent and wounded eight others, said Awda hospital, which received the casualties.A third strike hit a tent in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis in the south, killing at least one person, according to Nasser hospital.An Israeli military official told journalists there had been three incidents Sunday, two in southern Gaza and one in the north, and noted that the update was partial for now.More bodies of hostages identifiedIsrael identified the remains of two hostages released by Hamas overnight.Netanyahu’s office said the bodies belonged to Ronen Engel, a father of three from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Sonthaya Oakkharasri, a Thai agricultural worker from Kibbutz Be’eri.Both were believed to have been killed during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which sparked the war. Engel’s wife, Karina, and two of his three children were kidnapped and released in a ceasefire in November 2023.Hamas in the past week has handed over the remains of 12 hostages.Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said that it had found the body of a hostage and would return it on Sunday “if circumstances in the field” allowed. It warned that any escalation by Israel would hamper search efforts.Israel on Saturday said the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would stay closed “until further notice” and its reopening would depend on how Hamas fulfills its ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 deceased hostages.Hamas says the devastation and Israeli military control of certain areas of Gaza have slowed the handover. Israel believes Hamas has access to more bodies than it has returned.Israel has released 150 bodies of Palestinians back to Gaza, including 15 on Sunday, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel has neither identified the bodies nor said how they died. The ministry has posted photos of bodies on its website to help families attempting to locate loved ones. The bodies were decomposed and blackened. and some were missing limbs and teeth.Only 25 bodies have been identified, the Health Ministry said.After Israel and Hamas exchanged 20 living hostages for more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, the handover of remains is a major issue in the first stage of the ceasefire. A major scale-up of humanitarian aid, including the opening of the Rafah crossing, for people entering or leaving Gaza, is the other central issue.Ceasefire’s second phaseHamas said talks with mediators to start the ceasefire’s second phase have begun.The next stages of the ceasefire are expected to focus on disarming Hamas, Israeli withdrawal from additional areas it controls in Gaza, and future governance of the devastated territory.Hazem Kassem, a Hamas spokesman, said late Saturday that the second phase of negotiations “requires national consensus.” He said Hamas has begun discussions to “solidify its positions,” without giving details.According to the U.S. plan, the negotiations will include disarming Hamas and the establishment of an internationally backed authority to run Gaza.Kassem reiterated that the group won’t be part of the ruling authority in a postwar Gaza. He called for the prompt establishment of a body of Palestinian technocrats to run day-to-day affairs.For now, “government agencies in Gaza continue to perform their duties, as the vacuum is very dangerous, and this will continue until an administrative committee is formed and agreed upon by all Palestinian factions,” he said.Rafah border crossingThe Rafah crossing was the only one not controlled by Israel before the war. It has been closed since May 2024, when Israel took control of the Gaza side. A fully reopened crossing would make it easier for Palestinians to seek medical treatment, travel or visit family in Egypt, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.On Sunday, the Palestinian Authority’s Interior Ministry in Ramallah announced procedures for Palestinians wishing to leave or enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing. For those who want to leave Gaza, Palestinian Embassy staff from Cairo will be at the crossing to issue temporary travel documents that allow entry into Egypt. Palestinians who wish to enter Gaza will need to apply at the embassy.The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.Thousands more people are missing, according to the Red Cross.Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the attack that sparked the war.___Samy Magdy reported from Cairo.

    TEL AVIV, Israel —

    The fragile ceasefire in Gaza faced its first major test Sunday as an Israeli security official said the transfer of aid into the territory is halted “until further notice” after a Hamas ceasefire violation, and Israeli forces launched a wave of strikes.

    The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement on the halt in aid, which is occurring a little over a week since the start of the U.S.-proposed ceasefire aimed at ending two years of war.

    Israel’s military earlier Sunday said its troops came under fire from Hamas militants in southern Gaza. Health officials said at least 19 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes in central and southern Gaza.

    Israel’s military said it had struck dozens of what it called Hamas targets.

    A senior Egyptian official involved in the ceasefire negotiations said “round-the-clock” contacts were underway to de-escalate the situation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to reporters.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed the military to take “strong action” against any ceasefire violations but didn’t threaten to return to war.

    Israel’s military said militants fired at troops in areas of Rafah city that are Israeli-controlled according to the agreed-upon ceasefire lines. No injuries were reported. The military said Israel responded with airstrikes and artillery.

    Hamas, which continued to accuse Israel of multiple ceasefire violations, said communication with its remaining units in Rafah had been cut off for months and “we are not responsible for any incidents occurring in those areas.”

    Shortly before sunset, Israel’s military said it had begun a series of airstrikes in southern Gaza against what it called Hamas targets. It also said its forces struck “terrorists” approaching troops in Beit Lahiya in the north.

    Strikes in Gaza

    An Israeli airstrike killed at least six Palestinians in central Gaza, health officials said. The strike hit a makeshift coffeehouse on the coastal side of the town of Zawaida, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government.

    Another Israeli strike killed at least two people close to the Al-Ahly soccer club in the Nuseirat refugee camp, the ministry said. The strike hit a tent and wounded eight others, said Awda hospital, which received the casualties.

    A third strike hit a tent in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis in the south, killing at least one person, according to Nasser hospital.

    An Israeli military official told journalists there had been three incidents Sunday, two in southern Gaza and one in the north, and noted that the update was partial for now.

    More bodies of hostages identified

    Israel identified the remains of two hostages released by Hamas overnight.

    Netanyahu’s office said the bodies belonged to Ronen Engel, a father of three from Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Sonthaya Oakkharasri, a Thai agricultural worker from Kibbutz Be’eri.

    Both were believed to have been killed during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which sparked the war. Engel’s wife, Karina, and two of his three children were kidnapped and released in a ceasefire in November 2023.

    Hamas in the past week has handed over the remains of 12 hostages.

    Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said that it had found the body of a hostage and would return it on Sunday “if circumstances in the field” allowed. It warned that any escalation by Israel would hamper search efforts.

    Israel on Saturday said the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would stay closed “until further notice” and its reopening would depend on how Hamas fulfills its ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 deceased hostages.

    Hamas says the devastation and Israeli military control of certain areas of Gaza have slowed the handover. Israel believes Hamas has access to more bodies than it has returned.

    Israel has released 150 bodies of Palestinians back to Gaza, including 15 on Sunday, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel has neither identified the bodies nor said how they died. The ministry has posted photos of bodies on its website to help families attempting to locate loved ones. The bodies were decomposed and blackened. and some were missing limbs and teeth.

    Only 25 bodies have been identified, the Health Ministry said.

    After Israel and Hamas exchanged 20 living hostages for more than 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, the handover of remains is a major issue in the first stage of the ceasefire. A major scale-up of humanitarian aid, including the opening of the Rafah crossing, for people entering or leaving Gaza, is the other central issue.

    Ceasefire’s second phase

    Hamas said talks with mediators to start the ceasefire’s second phase have begun.

    The next stages of the ceasefire are expected to focus on disarming Hamas, Israeli withdrawal from additional areas it controls in Gaza, and future governance of the devastated territory.

    Hazem Kassem, a Hamas spokesman, said late Saturday that the second phase of negotiations “requires national consensus.” He said Hamas has begun discussions to “solidify its positions,” without giving details.

    According to the U.S. plan, the negotiations will include disarming Hamas and the establishment of an internationally backed authority to run Gaza.

    Kassem reiterated that the group won’t be part of the ruling authority in a postwar Gaza. He called for the prompt establishment of a body of Palestinian technocrats to run day-to-day affairs.

    For now, “government agencies in Gaza continue to perform their duties, as the vacuum is very dangerous, and this will continue until an administrative committee is formed and agreed upon by all Palestinian factions,” he said.

    Rafah border crossing

    The Rafah crossing was the only one not controlled by Israel before the war. It has been closed since May 2024, when Israel took control of the Gaza side. A fully reopened crossing would make it easier for Palestinians to seek medical treatment, travel or visit family in Egypt, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.

    On Sunday, the Palestinian Authority’s Interior Ministry in Ramallah announced procedures for Palestinians wishing to leave or enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing. For those who want to leave Gaza, Palestinian Embassy staff from Cairo will be at the crossing to issue temporary travel documents that allow entry into Egypt. Palestinians who wish to enter Gaza will need to apply at the embassy.

    The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.

    Thousands more people are missing, according to the Red Cross.

    Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the attack that sparked the war.

    ___

    Samy Magdy reported from Cairo.

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