Gaza ceasefire is in force again, IDF announces after wave of airstrikes against Hamas

The ceasefire in Gaza is in force again, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced, following a wave of airstrikes on dozens of Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip, which came in response to several attacks that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others.

The military said that following “the directive of the political echelon,” it had begun “the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire” on Sunday evening.

“The IDF will continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation of it,” the IDF stressed.

Palestinian sources confirmed to Al Jazeera that "the mediators succeeded in returning the situation in Gaza to the ceasefire agreement,” adding that “Discussions are underway to establish a binding mechanism for addressing any future violations in Gaza.”

Under pressure from the U.S., Israel also canceled the planned additional responses to Hamas’s violations, particularly the closing of border crossings.

President Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are set to arrive in Israel on Monday, reportedly called Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and urged Israel not to “break the rules of the game,” and to limit its response to Hamas so as to preserve the ceasefire agreement.

An Israeli official stressed on Sunday evening that the IDF’s strikes were meant as enforcement of the ceasefire and not its dismantlement: “There was a violation — there is punishment.”

The news outlet Axios cited a senior Trump administration official who said that the U.S. wasn’t surprised by Hamas’s actions. “We knew this was brewing. And the longer these guys are allowed to attack each other, the more they're going to attack each other.”

President Trump told reporters he thought rogue Hamas militants might be behind the attack. “We think maybe the leadership isn't involved in that, that it's some rebels within. It's going to be handled toughly, but properly,” he said.

In an announcement on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed a “strong” response before a senior official briefed news outlets that aid deliveries would be halted.

However, officials confirmed later that aid delivery would be renewed on Monday morning, following U.S. pressure.  Before the airstrikes, the IDF reportedly informed the U.S. military.

The U.S. had urged Israel to “respond proportionately but show restraint” during the call between Kushner, Witkoff, and Dermer, according to Axios.

“The next 30 days are going to be critical,” a U.S. official said. “We are now in charge of what's going on in Gaza when it comes to the implementation of the deal. We are going to be calling the shots.”

The official also warned that if there were more violence by Hamas, the U.S. could support Israeli operations to retake parts of Gaza in a bid to provide civilians with larger areas that aren’t under Hamas control. Some of the areas controlled by Israel are still being run by local clans, particularly in Rafah.

Meanwhile, Hamas claimed that 11 people were killed in the Israeli strikes. These included a field commander and four other operatives in Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades.