IDF strikes Gaza terrorists after ceasefire violations

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Sunday vowed to disarm Hamas “either through an agreement or through military means.”

By JNS

The Israel Defense Forces on Monday struck multiple Palestinian terrorists who breached the U.S.-brokered ceasefire by attempting to cross into IDF-controlled territory in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF said soldiers in northern Gaza eliminated one terrorist after several crossed the Yellow Line and planted “suspicious objects” near troops, posing an immediate threat.

“The remaining terrorists fled from the scene to the area west of the Yellow Line,” according to the statement.

In a second incident in northern Gaza, a terrorist was observed crossing the Yellow Line and approaching IDF troops.

“The IDF subsequently struck and eliminated the terrorist to neutralize the threat,” the army said.

The military remains “deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to act to eliminate any immediate threats,” it added.

On Monday, the Reuters news agency cited a statement from the Hamas-allied Popular Resistance Committees, Gaza’s third-largest terrorist group, saying an Israeli undercover force had killed one of its leaders.

The U.S.-designated terrorist group said Waseem Abdel-Hadi, a commander in its military wing, was killed in what it called an “assassination operation” near Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

The PRC, whose members took part in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel, said Abdel-Hadi had played a role in developing its armed wing. The IDF did not immediately comment.

The United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution on the future of the Gaza Strip with a 13-0 vote, as Russia and China abstained.

The U.N. resolution establishes a mandate for Washington and its partners to create and deploy an International Stabilization Force, along with what President Donald Trump has called a Board of Peace—a transitional civilian authority that he will lead.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Sunday vowed to disarm Hamas “either through an agreement or through military means.”

“We will continue to insist that the Hamas regime will not exist on the other side of the border. Even if this requires time, we will persist in the mission of dismantling Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip,” he stated, speaking during a visit to Gaza’s Rafah area, which remains under military control in accordance with the truce.

Also on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s commitment to removing the terror threat in Gaza, saying: “That area will be demilitarized and Hamas will be disarmed. Either this will happen the easy way or it will happen the hard way. I said this, and President Trump also said this.”