Israeli Reservist Killed in Rafah Attack; Ceasefire Reinstated After Retaliatory Strikes

An Israeli reservist soldier was killed on Tuesday in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, during an attack by Palestinian operatives amid an ongoing ceasefire. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) identified the soldier as Master Sgt. (res.) Yona Efraim Feldbaum, 37, from Neria. He was operating an excavator when enemy snipers targeted a building used by troops and the excavator itself around 3:45 p.m., resulting in his death. Shortly after, operatives fired RPGs at IDF forces, hitting an armored vehicle but causing no further injuries.

In response, the IDF conducted significant strikes targeting buildings and tunnel shafts in the area, reportedly killing over 100 individuals, including more than 30 commanders from Hamas and other groups. Gaza health authorities reported at least 104 deaths, including women and children. Following these actions, Israel announced at 10 a.m. that the ceasefire was reinstated.

Defense Minister Israel Katz stated, "Dozens of Hamas commanders were eliminated in a powerful IDF operation since yesterday in response to the attack on IDF soldiers and the blatant violation of the agreement to return the fallen hostages, in addition to strikes on dozens of infrastructure targets." He added, "There is and will be no immunity for anyone in the leadership of the Hamas terror organization, neither for those wearing suits nor for those hiding in tunnels. Anyone who raises a hand against IDF soldiers, his hand will be severed."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the IDF to carry out "powerful strikes" in Gaza in response to Hamas's violation of the ceasefire, including the killing of the soldier and the group's failure to return the 13 remaining bodies of hostages as agreed in the ceasefire deal reached earlier this month.

Israel has accused Hamas of multiple violations of the deal and charged that the group knows the location of the vast majority, or even all, of the remaining bodies of hostages and is purposely stalling and staging fake discoveries of bodies.

On Monday night, Hamas handed over partial remains it claimed belonged to one of the 13 hostages whose bodies are still in Gaza, but were later discovered by Israel to belong to a hostage who was recovered by Israeli troops in December 2023.

The military released footage showing Hamas staging the fake recovery of those remains, bringing them out of a building and placing them in a large hole operatives had dug in the ground in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City. They then covered the body bag in dirt and pretended to uncover it for the first time in front of the Red Cross.

Separately, the military wing of the Hamas terror group announced on Tuesday night that it managed to "retrieve" the bodies of two hostages in the Gaza Strip earlier in the day, although it did not hand them over to Israel.

The Al-Qassam Brigades named the two hostages it claimed to have found on Tuesday. Israeli media outlets generally refrain from publishing the names until the families of the hostages have been notified.

Earlier Tuesday, Hamas said it had located the body of a hostage in a tunnel in southern Gaza and planned to hand it over to Israel at 8 p.m. Hamas later said it was postponing the handover due to Israel's own "violations" of the ceasefire.