• Source:JND
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Israeli planes launched strikes in Gaza on Tuesday after Israel accused the militant group Hamas of violating a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory, the latest test of a fragile deal brokered earlier this month by US President Donald Trump.

26 killed in Gaza

Local health authorities said the strikes killed at least 26 people, including five in a house hit in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, four in a building in Gaza City's Sabra neighbourhood, and five in a car in Khan Younis. The attacks by Israeli planes continued into early on Wednesday across the Gaza Strip, according to witnesses.

Is Trump-brokered ceasefire at risk?

Trump said on Wednesday that a US-backed ceasefire in Gaza was not at risk as Israel and Hamas traded accusations of blame for the violence.

Gazan health authorities said the strikes killed at least 26 people, including five in a house hit in the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, four in a building in Gaza City's Sabra neighborhood, and five in a car in Khan Younis.

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"As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. "So the Israelis hit back, and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back," he added. "Nothing is going to jeopardise" the ceasefire, Trump said.

"You have to understand Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave." The attacks by Israeli planes continued into early Wednesday across the Gaza Strip, according to witnesses.

Netanyahu saus Hamas violated ceasefire

In a statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he had ordered immediate "powerful attacks." The statement did not give a specific reason for the attacks but an Israeli military official said Hamas had violated the ceasefire by carrying out an attack against Israeli forces in an Israeli-controlled area of the enclave.

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"This is yet another blatant violation of the ceasefire," the official said. The US-backed ceasefire agreement went into effect on October 10, halting two years of war triggered by deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Both sides have accused each other of ceasefire violations. "If they (Hamas) are good, they are going to be happy and if they are not good, they are going to be terminated, their lives will be terminated," Trump said. "Nobody knows what happened to the Israeli soldier but they say it was sniper fire. And it was retribution for that, and I think they have a right to do that."

(With inputs from agency)

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