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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday that the strikes in Gaza were carried out in response to ceasefire violations, identifying eight militants who broke out of an underground terror structure in eastern Rafah.
The IDF said it also struck four Hamas and Islamic Jihad commanders and additional militants, as well as a weapons storage facility. A Hamas weapons manufacturing site and two launch sites in central Gaza were also hit, the IDF said.
Gaza hospitals run by the Hamas-controlled health ministry said at least 30 Palestinians were reported killed in the attacks, according to the Associated Press.
US envoy Witkoff says high-level Miami talks focus on ‘unified Gaza authority’ amid Israel ceasefire progress
Rescue workers carry the body of a victim amid debris following an Israeli airstrike on a police station in Gaza City, January 31, 2026, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. (Omar al-Qatta/AFP via Getty Images)
Hospital officials said civilians were also among the casualties. He said the casualties included two women and six children from two different families. Mohammed Abu Selmiya, director of Shifa hospital, said an airstrike also hit a police station in Gaza City, killing at least 14 people and wounding others.
The attacks came a day after Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire. An Israeli military official told the AP that the strikes were carried out in response to ceasefire violations, but declined to comment on specific targets.
The violence came a day before the Rafah border crossing with Egypt was to reopen, a move seen as an important step in the second phase of a US-brokered ceasefire. That phase includes limited border reopening, efforts to demilitarize Gaza, and discussions on post-war governance.
Israel has said that the Rafah crossing has been the focus of concerns about arms smuggling by Hamas, and security arrangements will accompany any reopening.
Two IDF soldiers killed amid ‘serious’ ceasefire violations, analyst says ‘this is not the last’
Rescue workers carry the body of a victim amid debris following an Israeli airstrike on a police station in Gaza City, January 31, 2026, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. (Omar al-Qatta/AFP via Getty Images)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel has agreed to a “limited reopening” of the crossing under President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
Israel has said it continues to carry out attacks across the region in response to violations of the ceasefire agreement. On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces said it attacked Hezbollah infrastructure and engineering vehicles in southern Lebanon, accusing the group of attempting to re-establish terror infrastructure by violating agreements with Israel.
Meanwhile, according to The Times of Israel, a senior Israeli military official admitted that the IDF believes the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry’s war death toll is largely accurate. The military estimates that about 70,000 Gazans were killed during the two-year conflict that began with Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack.
Rescue workers and onlookers stand amid the debris of a police station after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on January 31, 2026, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. (Omar al-Qatta/AFP via Getty Images)
The Gaza Health Ministry currently reports 71,667 deaths, including more than 450 since the October 2025 ceasefire, although Israeli officials said the estimate does not include bodies buried under debris.
Gaza’s health ministry said 509 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire began on October 10.
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Israel also returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians on Thursday, days after recovering the remains of the last Israeli hostage, a Gaza health ministry official said, according to the AP.
The transfer marks the final hostage-taking exchange under the first phase of the ceasefire.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
