CAIRO/JERUSALEM : Israel said on Wednesday it remains committed to the US-backed ceasefire in Gaza, despite its retaliation for the death of an Israeli soldier with day-long bombardment that Gaza health authorities said killed 104 people.Even as the military affirmed it still intended to uphold the truce in the Palestinian enclave, it announced it had carried out another airstrike in the north of Gaza where it said weapons had been stored. Medics said two people were killed in that attack.
The killing of an Israeli soldier in Gaza on Tuesday has triggered the worst escalation there since the ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump came into effect on October 10 after two years of war triggered by deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel.Israel says the soldier was killed in an attack by gunmen on territory within the “yellow line” where its troops withdrew under the truce. Hamas has rejected the accusation.
Israel described Wednesday’s attack as a targeted strike near Beit Lahia in the north of the strip, where it said weapons had been stored. It said it would continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement while responding firmly to any violation.”We want to ensure that the goal that President Trump and we agreed on of disarming Hamas and demilitarizing Gaza is ultimately achieved,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said later on Wednesday during a visit to a military facility in southern Israel where US troops are monitoring the truce.