Netanyahu orders forceful response after IDF strikes Rafah following Hamas ceasefire breach - Amichai Stein, Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Amichai Stein, Jerusalem Post Staff

The Palestinian terrorist organization reportedly fired an anti-tank missile at Israeli military engineering vehicles operating in the area earlier on Sunday.

 

Israeli soldiers stand next to tanks near the Israel-Gaza border, in Israel, October 19, 2025

(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)

 

The IDF confirmed on Sunday that it conducted strikes against Hamas in Rafah after the terror group fired an anti-tank missile and gunfire toward Israeli soldiers.

Following the incident, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Israel's armed forces to respond with force against Gazan terror targets during a consultation with Defense Minister Israel Katz and the heads of Israel's security establishment, the Prime Minister's Office announced.

A senior Hamas official accused Netanyahu of undermining the ceasefire agreement under pressure from his right-wing coalition partners.

Nevertheless, Reuters later reported that Hamas's armed wing, the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, said that it was unaware of any incidents or clashes in Gaza's Rafah.

Izzat al-Rishq, a leader in the Islamic Resistance Movement, said Hamas remains committed to the agreement, while “the Zionist occupation continues to violate the deal and fabricate flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes.”

IDF chief Eyal Zamir, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defense Minister Israel Katz seen during a military briefing, in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 30, 2025 (credit: MAAYAN TOAF/GPO)

He added that Netanyahu is attempting to “evade and disavow his commitments” to international mediators and guarantors in order to placate his “extremist terrorist coalition.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Netanyahu to "order the IDF to fully resume fighting in the Gaza Strip at full strength" shortly after reports of the Israeli strike in Rafah surfaced. "The Nazi terrorist organization must be completely destroyed - and preferably as soon as possible."

In addition, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich simply posted "War!" on X/Twitter.

US warns of imminent Hamas ceasefire violation

This development comes after the US State Department said on Saturday night it had informed the nations guaranteeing the Gaza ceasefire agreement of "credible reports" indicating "an imminent ceasefire violation by Hamas against the people of Gaza.

"This planned attack against Palestinian civilians would constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement," the department said.

Hamas rejected the warning on Sunday morning, claiming it was "fully aligned with Israel’s misleading propaganda. Since the ceasefire took hold, Hamas has killed at least 32 people in a wave of killings meant to target anti-Hamas clans that had surged in the Strip.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Amichai Stein, Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-870914

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