Israeli media reports military attack on Gaza as Hamas rejects US statement on group’s ‘ceasefire violation’

Israeli public broadcaster Kan said the air force was attacking Rafah in the south of Gaza. Most media outlets described the attack as air strikes.

The Israeli military said on Friday that “several terrorists” opened fire on soldiers in the Rafah area, causing no injuries. The military later said it struck another group of “terrorists” that were approaching troops in Khan Younis on the same day.

The military would continue to operate to remove immediate threats, it said. The Israeli government and Hamas have been accusing each other of violations of the ceasefire for days, with Israel saying the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice.

Israel and Hamas have engaged in a row over the return of the bodies of deceased hostages. Israel demanded that Hamas fulfill its obligations in turning over the remaining bodies of all 28 hostages.

Hamas has returned all 20 live hostages and 12 of the deceased but said the process needs effort and special equipment to recover corpses buried under rubble.

Hamas rejected on Sunday a statement from the US State Department in which it cited “credible reports” indicating the Palestinian militant group would imminently violate the ceasefire deal with Israel.

Hamas said such allegations were false.