Israeli strikes kill 42 in Gaza as both sides say the other breached truce

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighbourhood, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 19, 2025 [Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters]

Oct. 19, 2025 - Israel’s military launched a wave of air strikes on southern Gaza as the fragile United States-brokered ceasefire intended to end the two-year war comes under threat.

The Israeli army said on Sunday that it conducted a “massive and extensive wave” of strikes on dozens of targets after its troops came under fire from Hamas fighters in Rafah, a charge the Palestinian group denied.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on X that he wanted the Israeli army to “fully resume combat in the Gaza Strip with maximum force”. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posted: “War!”. And Amichai Chikli, the outspoken minister of diaspora affairs, said: “As long as Hamas exists, there will be war.”

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