Israeli Withdrawal: Ceasefire and Delivering Aid to Gaza Resume

Hamas, criticizing repeated ceasefire violations, announced that it had cut off contact with its remaining units in Rafah months ago and that it would not accept responsibility for incidents in those areas.

News ID: 86822

Date: 20 October 2025 - 10:33

TEHRAN (Defapress) - The fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel faced its first serious test on Sunday, when the occupying army launched a wave of deadly attacks, claiming that Hamas forces had killed 2 Israeli soldiers. An Israeli security official also announced that the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza had been halted.

However, hours later, the Israeli army announced that it had resumed the implementation of the ceasefire and that aid deliveries would resume from Monday.

More than a week has passed since the start of the US-proposed ceasefire to end the two-year war in Gaza. "We want to make sure it's very calm," Donald Trump told reporters after Israel's heavy attacks on Gaza. "Hamas has been acting very aggressively, shooting. I suspect that this violence is coming from several internal rebels, not from the Hamas leadership. It will be handled firmly but appropriately."

Vice President J.D. Vance also said on Sunday that he might visit Israel in the coming days. "We're looking into it, and the administration wants to monitor the situation closely. There will be ups and downs, of course," he said.

Health officials said at least 36 Palestinians were martyred across Gaza, including children, in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip yesterday. The Israeli military said it had bombed dozens of Hamas targets after its forces were targeted.

A senior Egyptian official involved in the ceasefire talks said that round-the-clock calls were being made to reduce tensions.

Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to take decisive action against any ceasefire violations, but has stopped short of threatening to return to war.

The Israeli military said Hamas fighters had opened fire on Israeli soldiers in areas of the city of Rafah that are under Israeli control under the ceasefire agreement.

Hamas, in turn, has criticized Israel for its repeated ceasefire violations, saying it had cut off contact with its remaining units in Rafah months ago and would not accept responsibility for incidents there.

Gazans fear a return to war in a territory already suffering from famine after humanitarian aid was cut off. Israel had stopped aid for more than two months after the previous ceasefire ended.

Al-Awda Hospital said it had received the bodies of 24 victims of Israeli airstrikes on the Nussirat and Al-Bureij camps in central Gaza.

The Gaza Health Ministry said an airstrike on a makeshift cafe in the central Gaza city of Zuwayd martyred at least 6 Palestinians. Another strike in Beit Lahia in the north killed two men. Shifa Hospital confirmed the news.

Another strike on a tent in the Al-Mawasi area of ​​Khan Yunis in the south killed at least 4 people, including a woman and two children. Nasser Hospital reported the news.

At the same time, a Hamas negotiating team headed by Khalil Al-Hayyah arrived in Cairo to hold talks with mediators and other Palestinian groups on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

The next phase of talks is set to focus on Hamas disarmament, Israeli withdrawal from areas under its control in Gaza, and the future of governance in the devastated territory. America has proposed forming an internationally backed government.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the group had begun talks to “consolidate its positions.” He stressed that Hamas would not participate in the post-war governing structure and called for the immediate formation of a body of Palestinian technocrats to run day-to-day affairs.

“For now, the state institutions in Gaza continue to function, because the power vacuum is very dangerous,” he added.

Israel’s genocide has martyred more than 68,000 Palestinians, and tens of thousands more remain missing.