At least 50 Palestinians, including 22 children, were killed in overnight Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, the territory’s Hamas-run Civil Defence agency told AFP on Wednesday.

The strikes took place despite a United States-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. Both sides have accused each other of violating the truce.

Around 200 persons were injured in strikes that targeted tents of displaced persons, homes and areas near hospitals, the Civil Defence agency was quoted as saying.

Palestinian Civil Defence Spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal described the situation as “catastrophic and terrifying” and the attacks as “a clear and flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement”, AFP reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that after security consultations, he had ordered the military to carry out “forceful strikes” in Gaza. The prime minister’s office did not specify a reason for the strikes.

Israel launched the strikes after accusing Hamas of attacking its troops in southern Gaza on Tuesday, a claim the group denied, AFP reported.

On Tuesday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said one of its soldiers, 37-year-old Yona Efraim Feldbaum, was killed in combat in southern Gaza.

He was part of a military engineering unit ambushed near the southern city of Rafah, the BBC quoted Israeli media as saying.

However, Hamas said its fighters had “no connection to the shooting incident in Rafah” and reaffirmed their commitment to the US-brokered ceasefire, AFP reported.

US President Donald Trump also defended Israel’s response, saying it “should hit back” after the death of its soldier, but added that “nothing is going to jeopardise” the ceasefire, AFP reported.

As part of the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released all living Israeli hostages, while Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. This phase also includes a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and further exchanges of hostages and prisoners.

Israel, however, has accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire by failing to return certain bodies, including a coffin handed over on Monday that contained the partial remains of a hostage already returned in 2023, which it called a clear breach of the agreement.

Hamas rejected the allegations, accusing Israel of fabricating pretexts for renewed attacks.

The group maintained that it was committed to returning the bodies but faced logistical challenges due to widespread destruction in Gaza, AFP reported.

Meanwhile, discussions are underway on the next steps of Trump’s 20-point peace plan, including disarmament, governance of Gaza and whether Hamas will agree to demilitarise.

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza began in October 2023 after Hamas killed 1,200 persons during its incursion into southern Israel and took hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on besieged Gaza since then, leaving more than 67,000 persons dead.

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