Tension has returned to Gaza over the issue of body exchanges between Israel and Hamas. Each side has accused the other of delaying the process, as Israeli air raids resumed. In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the army to carry out strong and immediate strikes on the Strip, accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire. The movement, however, said that Israel was preventing Red Cross teams and its own representatives from taking part in the operation.
The escalation has led to a delay in the handover of one hostage’s body, amid limited clashes between fighters Israel said were from Hamas and Israeli soldiers, leaving one soldier seriously wounded.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s civil defence reported the deaths of more than 100 people, including about 35 children, in less than 12 hours due to Israeli airstrikes on homes and tents of displaced families, despite the ongoing ceasefire between Hamas and Israeli forces.
The civil defence called for an immediate and comprehensive halt to all attacks and for safe humanitarian corridors to be opened to deliver fuel, equipment and essential supplies for rescue teams. It also demanded international protection for civilians, medical staff and rescuers in line with international law.
Elsewhere, Nasser Medical Complex announced that 20 people were killed in a strike on Khan Younis, while al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital reported five deaths and several injuries in a bombing on a displaced persons’ camp in Deir al-Balah. Baptist Hospital said it had received two bodies following a strike on a home in Gaza City’s Zeitoun district. Three people, including a young girl, were killed in another strike in the Yarmouk area, and civil defence teams recovered four more bodies from the rubble of a house belonging to the al-Banna family in Sabra.
Israel also launched heavy raids on central and northern Rafah, while its navy and tanks shelled coastal areas in the south, in another breach of the truce. Witnesses told Al Jazeera that rescue teams were struggling to reach the missing because of ongoing shelling and the constant presence of warplanes overhead.
The Israeli army said one reservist had been killed when troops were attacked in Rafah. Israeli media later suggested the strikes were likely to stop and that the ceasefire would soon resume. An Israeli official said the latest attacks were nearly over, after “dozens of raids targeting Hamas operatives”.
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The Ceasefire Deal – Stages and Obstacles
On 9 October 2025, Hamas and Israel reached a ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump, with support from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey. The deal was meant to enable prisoner exchanges and allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, ending a war that had killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, destroyed homes and displaced much of the population.
However, Israel continued to launch strikes that have killed more than 150 people since the truce was declared – a new violation of the agreement.
The deal was structured in three phases: the first involves prisoner and body exchanges; the second covers Hamas handing over its weapons; and the third focuses on reconstruction. Yet even the first phase has faced serious logistical and political challenges, while the second seems nearly impossible without stronger international mediation.
Egypt has played a central role alongside Washington, providing equipment to facilitate the handover of bodies and proposing to freeze Hamas’ weapons rather than surrender them. Cairo has also suggested hosting a reconstruction conference in November, at a lower cost and within a shorter timeframe, in an effort to save the agreement and maintain relative stability.
Before the deal was signed, Gaza witnessed rare moments of celebration: Palestinians took to the streets as the ceasefire was announced, the last Israeli hostages were returned home, and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners were reunited with their families. Yet the hardest issues remain unresolved – Hamas agreeing to disarm, Israel’s withdrawal from the Strip, and the implementation of Trump’s 20-point plan, which includes the possible creation of a Palestinian state.
Observers say the success of the truce depends on both sides honouring their commitments and completing the three stages, as well as sustained international support for Gaza’s reconstruction – a process complicated by Hamas’ continued control over key areas.
Chances of Success and Risk Factors
Speaking to +963, Lebanese political analyst Ahmad Fahd al-Ayoubi said, “This ceasefire cannot be seen as a mere temporary truce, nor is it a full peace deal. It’s a politically significant step, as shown by developments since its partial implementation.”
He added that if Hamas were to retain control on the ground and form a local police force under US supervision, “it would mean the agreement is being carried out in practice”.
Al-Ayoubi argued that the deal was not Netanyahu’s preferred outcome. “It was imposed under President Trump’s timing and political conditions – before the Nobel Peace Prize announcement and within the context of wider global rivalries,” he said.
He also pointed to challenges on both sides. Hamas, he said, “does not believe the second stage – disarmament and tunnel destruction – will be implemented, as it never accepted that clause in the first place”. He expects lengthy manoeuvring, noting that Trump himself stated there was no fixed timeline for implementation. “The Israelis, meanwhile, need the continuation of some form of conflict, given their internal political crises and how they manage their regional strategy.”
According to al-Ayoubi, a major Hamas attack that causes heavy Israeli casualties could collapse the agreement, as could Israel’s failure to meet its aid and reconstruction commitments. Still, he said Hamas seems determined to adhere to at least the first stage and contain the second.
He believes the deal could evolve into a lasting peace process, but he warned that the main obstacle is “the lack of a clear vision for a Palestinian state – without a two-state solution, there’s no real horizon”. After the Gaza war, he added, “most Arab states turned away from Iran’s regional agenda and Hezbollah and became more open to normalising ties with Israel”, which has temporarily eased pressure on Hamas and Hezbollah.
This situation, he said, “could reshuffle the regional cards again. Arab states and Turkey now see Netanyahu as a threat to everyone, and some, like Egypt, prefer the confrontation to stay confined to Hamas and Hezbollah rather than spread to their own territories”.
Read also: The Middle East After the Gaza War: A Region Without a Centre.
Between Disarmament and Reconstruction
Irene Saeed, an Egyptian academic and political analyst, told +963 that the agreement “marks a real political breakthrough led by Cairo, Washington and Arab partners”.
She said the immediate priority is stopping the war and delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza’s civilians, while longer-term goals such as establishing a Palestinian state on pre-1967 borders would come later.
“The guarantees offered by Cairo and its Arab partners, along with Washington and other major powers, are crucial for ensuring the deal’s success,” she said. Saeed noted that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s visit to Brussels this week focuses on supporting this agreement and reinforcing EU-Egypt cooperation.
She acknowledged ongoing “minor clashes and incidents” in Gaza, which she described as “expected after a two-year war that saw Israel commit systematic acts of destruction and brutality”.
Ending such a conflict, she said, “cannot happen overnight, but the follow-up efforts could soon bring a complete cessation of hostilities”, particularly as Washington has pressed for an immediate ceasefire.
Saeed pointed out that Trump’s decision to reduce political and military support for Netanyahu “may help end the war altogether”, especially with growing discontent inside Israel and an exhausted army.
Families of released hostages, she said, “no longer have a reason to support the continuation of war”, predicting that the right-wing government “will likely collapse within a year as its popularity declines”.
She concluded that while the ceasefire remains fragile, Egypt’s diplomatic role and the continued international push for reconstruction “offer the best chance of moving from war to a sustainable calm – and eventually, to a political solution based on realism and achievable goals”.
