JERUSALEM: The Israeli military launched an attack on Gaza on Sunday, Israeli media reported, dimming hopes that a week-old US-mediated ceasefire would lead to lasting peace in the enclave as Israel traded blame with Palestinian militant group Hamas.
An Israeli military official said on Sunday that Hamas had carried out multiple attacks against Israeli forces inside Gaza, including a rocket-propelled grenade attack and a sniper attack against Israeli soldiers.
"Both of the incidents happened in an Israeli-controlled area...This is a bold violation of the ceasefire," the official said.
Senior Hamas official Izzat Al Risheq said on Sunday that the Palestinian militant group remained committed to the ceasefire, which he accused Israel of repeatedly violating.
Neither Al Risheq nor the Israeli military official made any mention of the reported Israeli strikes in Gaza.
The government media office in Gaza said on Saturday that Israel had committed 47 violations after the ceasefire deal, leaving 38 dead and 143 wounded.
The impact of the Israeli strikes on Sunday, the most serious test since an already fragile ceasefire took effect on October 11, was not immediately clear.
Formidable obstacles to Trump's plan to end the war still remain. Key questions of Hamas disarming, the governance of Gaza, the make-up of an international "stabilization force", and moves towards the creation of a Palestinian state have yet to be resolved.
The US embassy in Jerusalem did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israel returns 15 Palestinian bodies to Gaza
AFP reported on Sunday that Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Sunday, bringing the total number handed over to 150, the health ministry said.
Under a ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Israel was to turn over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli returned.
Hamas returned the remains of two hostages late on Saturday -- Ronen Engel, an Israeli national, and Thai farmworker Sonthaya Oakkharasri.
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