Gaza Massacres: Israel Kills Over 100 Palestinians as It Violates Ceasefire – Again
Reports in Israeli media about what led to the strikes paint a different picture than the official statements by Israeli officials.
Israel killed more than 100 Palestinians in Gaza overnight in its deadliest assault since the start of the ceasefire – the long-awaited agreement that new reports indicate Israel had no intention of honoring.
The Israeli military said it struck 30 targets, which it claimed were “terrorists holding command positions within the terrorist organizations operating in Gaza.” It accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire, but new reporting shows Israel’s accusations, as is often the case, are not always what they seem.
More than half of the victims from Israel’s widespread bombardment were women and children, according to the health ministry. In central Gaza, Israeli bombs killed at least 18 members of the same family, the victims spanning three generations.
The Israeli government and some local media have hailed the strikes as a response to a violation by Hamas. Israeli officials accused the group of not following the guidelines regarding the return of the deceased hostages’ remains and of attacking Israeli soldiers in Rafah, killing one – an ambush Hamas said it had no connection to.
In fact, the Israeli military itself admitted to local media that it didn’t know whether the alleged Hamas cell’s strike was approved by leadership or decided by the militants who were present.
Muhammad Shehada, a Palestinian writer and political analyst from Gaza, highlighted reporting from Israeli media that indicated the incident may have involved a Hamas cell that had been in the tunnels for a long time and may not have known about the ceasefire.
He noted there are still Hamas militants entrenched in tunnels who may think hostilities are ongoing since they can’t access the internet and may have heard the ongoing Israeli strikes.
“Some of them might clash with Israeli troops, especially when their rations run out & they are about to die either way,” Shehada wrote. “This has been clearly communicated to the Israelis & the Trump administration during the ceasefire negotiations, but Netanyahu is now using this as a flimsy pretext to resume the genocide to its utmost intensity.”
Shehada said Israel is also exploiting the logistical difficulty in finding and retrieving the bodies of hostages, even though their own Mossad chief acknowledged the challenges in doing so. The bodies may be difficult to locate due to the massive amount of rubble from Israel’s two-year genocide and the fact that Israel killed captives and captors, along with knowledge of the bodies’ locations.
The Israeli military posted on X around 10 am local time on Wednesday that it would return to the ceasefire (after violating the agreement over 100 times, according to Gaza officials). But reporting – again, in Israeli media – paints a different picture. According to former senior Israeli military official Amir Aviv, the military had sought a reprieve in its genocidal campaign only so it could prepare for more fighting.
“The Chief of Staff has long asked for time to work on the tanks, on the tools. After two years of fighting, the tools are worn out,” Amir Avivi said in an interview with Israel’s pro-Netanyahu Channel 14. “They want to refresh the forces, consolidate the defense line.”
Donald Trump defended his ally’s attacks on Wednesday, saying Israel “should hit back” when its troops come under attack. He also projected confidence about the ceasefire because “Hamas is a very small part of the overall Middle East peace. And they have to behave.”
As Israel launched the overnight strikes, Vice President JD Vance struck an even more upbeat tone: “The ceasefire is holding.”
In a notable break from her MAGA alliance, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene sharply decried Israel’s latest strikes. In July, she became the first Republican member of Congress to call Israel’s genocide on Gaza what it is: a genocide.
“46 CHILDREN!!!” Greene wrote on X, referring to the victims in Israel’s latest assault. “Are these not war crimes?”
Check out more from Zeteo:
