Gaza ceasefire tested as Israel, Hamas exchange fire and blame

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he has ordered the army to immediately carry out “powerful strikes” in Gaza, and Hamas responded by saying it would delay handing over the body of a hostage, putting new pressure on the tenuous US-brokered ceasefire.

The order from Netanyahu follows heightened tensions, as Israel reported Hamas firing on its forces in southern Gaza and after Hamas returned a set of remains that Israel said belonged to a hostage recovered earlier in the war.

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

In another sign of the fragility of the ceasefire, Israeli troops were shot at in the southern city of Rafah on Tuesday and returned fire, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because there hasn't been an official announcement yet.

The ceasefire that began on October 10 has largely held despite at least two previous flare-ups in violence.

On October 19, Israel said two Israeli soldiers were killed by Hamas fire. Israel responded with a series of strikes that killed over 40 Palestinians, according to local health officials. And over the weekend, Israel carried out an airstrike against what it said were Islamic Jihad militants planning an attack, wounding several people.

There are still 13 bodies of hostages in Gaza. Hamas said on Tuesday it had recovered the body of a hostage, but after Israeli announced the plans to strike Gaza, Hamas said it in a statement it would delay the handover.

An Associated Press videographer in Khan Younis witnessed what appeared to be a white body bag being carried out from a tunnel by several men, including some masked militants, and then transported into an ambulance. It was not immediately clear what was in the bag.

The slow return of hostages' bodies is posing a challenge to implementing the next stages of the ceasefire, which will address even knottier issues, such as the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force in Gaza and deciding who will govern the territory.

Hamas has said it is struggling to locate the bodies amid the vast destruction in Gaza, while Israel has accused the militant group of purposely delaying their return.