Netanyahu orders military to carry out “powerful strikes” in Gaza

On October 28, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had ordered the Israeli army to immediately carry out “powerful strikes” in Gaza, marking a fresh challenge to the fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire.

The order comes amid rising tensions, after Israel reported that Hamas fired on its forces in southern Gaza and returned a set of remains that Israel claims belonged to a hostage recovered earlier in the conflict, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

Netanyahu described the return as a “clear violation” of the ceasefire agreement, which requires Hamas to return all Israeli hostage remains as soon as possible.

In the southern city of Rafah, Israeli troops came under fire on October 28 and returned fire, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because there has been no official announcement.

Hamas said it has recovered the body of a hostage and plans to hand it over this evening. 

The slow return of hostages’ bodies is complicating the implementation of the next stages of the ceasefire, which are expected to tackle more complex issues, such as the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force in Gaza, and the determination of who will govern the territory.

Hamas has said it is struggling to locate the bodies amid the widespread destruction in Gaza, while Israel has accused the militant group of deliberately delaying their return. Over the weekend, Egypt deployed a team of experts and heavy equipment to aid the search for the remaining hostages. This effort continued on October 28 in Khan Younis and Nuseirat.

This marks the second time since the ceasefire began on October 10 that the turnover of remains by Hamas has caused complications. Israel said one of the bodies released during the first week of the ceasefire belonged to an unidentified Palestinian.

During a previous ceasefire in February 2025, Hamas said it handed over the bodies of three hostages—Shiri Bibas and her two sons—but testing showed that one of the bodies was a Palestinian woman. Shiri Bibas’ body was returned a day later.

By Aghakazim Guliyev