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Truce in tatters: Gaza burns again as Israel halts aid after deadly clashes

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20th October, 2025 09:18 IST

In a sobering crescendo of conflict, Gaza Strip found itself once again under the ominous shadow of war on Sunday, 19 October, as Israel unleashed what officials described as the most intense wave of attacks since the freshly minted truce took delicate root. The sky above Gaza trembled with the thunderous echo of air-strikes, while ground forces tightened their noose in retaliation for assaults they say were launched from within the enclave.

According to The New York Times report, two young Israeli soldiers fell in combat, their lives claimed in a moment that Israel’s military called a “blatant violation” of the cease-fire agreement. In a fierce ripple of retaliation, the Israeli Defence Forces struck dozens of targets across Gaza, including tunnels and weapons depots they say belonged to Hamas. On the Palestinian side, Gaza’s health ministry initially reported at least 14 lives lost, a tragic tally that may yet climb as the full damage becomes known.

The hourglass of peace, fragile as spun glass, was further imperilled when Israel announced the suspension of humanitarian aid shipments into Gaza, a move it says arrives in direct response to the militants’ alleged breach of the truce. Two Israeli officials (who spoke on condition of anonymity) confirmed that no further aid convoys will pass “until further notice”.

Palestinian embassy in Egypt says Rafah crossing will reopen Monday for people returning to Gaza

According to the military, the spark for this latest eruption of violence came when fighters in southern Gaza’s Rafah area fired an anti-tank missile at Israeli troops and followed up with gunfire. Israel said the attack came even as its soldiers were operating inside zones designated as under Israel’s control according to the cease-fire map. With grim urgency it replied: “We will eliminate the threat.”

Meanwhile, Hamas’s militant wing, for its part, denied any engagement in the Rafah area, saying it had no contact with fighters there and disavowing responsibility.

Political tremors accompanied the fighting. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried the attacks and summoned his top security brass, instructing them to act swiftly and decisively. Hard-line ministers echoed that call, demanding a full resumption of the war and warning that any illusions of faith in Hamas’s adherence to the truce are “predictably dangerous”.

Behind the headlines lies the humanitarian lament: nearly half a million Gazans remain displaced; food and water supplies hang by the thinnest of threads; and the festive hope that came with the cease-fire has evaporated into something brittle and cold. The reopening of the key Rafah crossing, vital for delivering aid, is now hostage to political will, tied to Israel’s demand that Hamas hand over the bodies of deceased hostages still buried under Gaza’s ruined infrastructure.

And so, amid this mournful symphony of bombs and broken promises, both sides proclaimed that they still support the cease-fire. A fragile vow, to be sure, and one now riven by mistrust, violations and the spectre of wider war. The cease-fire stands, for now; but its future hangs perilously in the balance.

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