Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 100 despite Trump ceasefire

At least 104 people have died in Gaza following overnight airstrikes carried out by Israel on Oct. 28, said the local health ministry.

According to AP News (AP), the Israeli military did so on instruction of Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He'd told them to conduct "powerful strikes" in Gaza and accused Hamas of breaching the ceasefire deal by killing an Israeli soldier in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.

But Hamas said that it has "no connection" to the Rafah incident, and called  Israel's airstrikes a "blatant violation of the ceasefire deal".

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has since announced that it would resume the ceasefire.

Hospitals received bodies following night airstrikes

Gaza's health ministry confirmed the casualties, including over 46 children, shortly after the overnight airstrikes.

In central Gaza, the Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah received at least 10 bodies, including three women and six children.

The Al-Awda Hospital reported receiving 30 bodies, 14 of which were children.

In southern Gaza, Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it had received 20 bodies, including 13 children, after five strikes in the area.

The IDF later said it had struck "30 terrorists holding command positions within terrorist organisations" operating inside the Palestinian territory.

"The IDF will continue to enforce the [ceasefire] agreement and respond forcefully to any violation," it said in an Oct. 29 statement.

Israel and Hamas blame each other for violating ceasefire

The night airstrikes come after an Israeli official said its forces were fired upon in Gaza, killing one soldier, reported AP.

It also said that Hamas had violated the ceasefire by handing over partial remains of an Israeli hostage on Oct. 27, and accused Hamas of withholding the bodies of the deceased.

The agreement requires Hamas to return the remaining hostages in Gaza as soon as possible.

Israeli officials further accused Hamas of staging the discovery of the remains, releasing a 14-minute edited video filmed by a military drone in Gaza.

But Hamas denied the accusations and said that the return of the bodies "may take some time" due to the destruction in Gaza, ABC News reported.

It also urged mediators to pressure Israel to halt its actions.

Israel "should hit back" when troops are attacked: Trump

Two U.S. officials confirmed that Israel had informed the U.S. prior to launching the strikes on Oct. 28.

President Donald Trump defended Israel's strikes on Gaza and called them "retribution" for alleged attacks involving Israeli soldiers, according to ABC News.

He added that Israel "should hit back" in response to the strikes after Israel accused Hamas of breaching the ceasefire agreement.

Despite backing the military action, Trump said he was confident the "ceasefire would hold", reiterating his warning that if Hamas is "not good, they're going to be terminated".

"If we have to, we'll take out Hamas very easily, and that'll be the end of Hamas. We would rather not," he said.

"We made a deal with them where they were going to behave, and they have to behave. If they don't behave, they get taken out."

Top image via AFP