Gaza ceasefire under strain after repeated Hamas incursions and Israeli retaliations

A delegation from Hamas, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, arrived in Cairo to meet with officials in the Egyptian intelligence service and discuss the escalation of hostilities in Gaza, Al-Arabiya reported on Sunday. 

On Saturday, Hamas accused Israel of trying to “undermine the ceasefire in Gaza.” 

In a statement, the terror group accused Israel of trying to change the ceasefire line, and engaging in repeated attacks in the Gaza Strip. 

“The continued removal of the yellow line by the occupation army and its daily westward advance, accompanied by the mass displacement of our people, in addition to the airstrikes and artillery shelling of areas in the eastern Gaza Strip, constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement by the terrorist occupation,” the statement read. 

The terror organization accused Israel of using “fabricated pretexts” as an excuse to carry out strikes on its commanders. 

“These systematic violations of the agreement have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of martyrs due to the ongoing airstrikes and killings under fabricated pretexts,” the statement continued. “They have also led to changes in the occupation army's withdrawal lines, contradicting the agreed-upon maps.” 

At the same time, senior Hamas official, Musa Abu Marzouk, said in an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday night that the terrorist organization did not convey a message to U.S. officials regarding a resumption of fighting.

"We did not meet with either Kushner or Witkoff to convey anything," Marzouk said. "A meeting was supposed to take place in Turkey, on the sidelines of a Russian-American meeting, and it was postponed."

"We are committed to the ceasefire and we call on all parties to fulfill their commitments and oblige Israel to stop the violations," Marzouk continued.

Three terrorists were killed on Saturday in the Rafah area, after approaching Israeli forces along a road through which humanitarian aid enters the Gaza Strip. The terrorists approached the IDF soldiers in a civilian vehicle, before at least one terrorist exited the vehicle and began firing on the IDF position. The terrorist was eliminated by return fire from the soldiers, and the military said that no Israeli soldiers were injured in the attack. 

❌CEASEFIRE VIOLATION: An armed terrorist crossed the yellow line, exploiting the humanitarian road in the area through which humanitarian aid enters southern Gaza. The terrorist fired at IDF soldiers and as a result, was eliminated. pic.twitter.com/UB6Ks7xSvt

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 22, 2025

In response to the incident, the military carried out several airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement, saying, “Today, Hamas violated the ceasefire again, sending a terrorist into Israel held territory to attack IDF soldiers. In response, Israel eliminated five senior Hamas terrorists.” 

“Israel has fully honored the ceasefire, Hamas has not,” the Prime Minister’s Office said. “Throughout the ceasefire, dozens of Hamas terrorists have crossed the Israeli lines to attack our troops, while they execute Palestinian civilians in Gaza.” 

The PMO called on the mediators of the Gaza peace deal to “insist that Hamas fulfill its side of the Ceasefire and President Trump’s 20-point plan,” including returning the remains of the three deceased hostages still in Gaza along with disarming and enabling “the total demilitarization of Gaza.” 

According to Israeli news site Ma'ariv, the Israeli strikes were planned by the IDF military intelligence and the Shin Bet, striking senior Hamas leaders throughout the Strip. 

“According to a military source, the attack in Gaza was carried out in coordination with the Americans at the coordination headquarters in Kiryat Gat,” Ma'ariv said. 

Additionally, after failing to find a negotiated solution for the Hamas terrorists trapped in the tunnel system in Rafah, the IDF collapsed part of the tunnel system in which the terrorists were hiding on Friday. The action caused several terrorists to flee the tunnel, with Israeli media reporting that six of the terrorists were captured alive, while 11 others were eliminated. 

🔴ELIMINATED: IDF troops identified 5 terrorists who emerged from underground terrorist infrastructure in eastern Rafah, east of the yellow line.

The terrorists approached the IDF troops, posing an immediate threat to them. The IAF eliminated the terrorists.

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 21, 2025

The fighters were attempting to flee back across the Yellow Line into territory under Hamas control, when they were engaged by the Israeli forces. 

The captured fighters were handed over to Israeli security forces for interrogation. 

The Hamas fighters were running out of food and water, according to the testimony of one of the captured terrorists. The captured terrorists also said that the fighters are separated from each other, after IDF strikes over the past few days collapsed several of the tunnels linking the different underground shelters. 

According to a report in Channel 12 News, the terrorists trapped in the tunnels are contained in a relatively small area. The IDF believes that the commander of the group is still alive, while it estimates that between 60-80 terrorists remain in the various tunnels. 

However, the military believes that currently, most of the Hamas fighters trapped in the tunnels are not willing to surrender, as was previously reported by Hamas leadership. 

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the United States is planning to start development of safe communities in the areas of Gaza controlled by Israel, in order to remove sections of the civilian population from Hamas control. The areas where these communities will be developed is being referred to as the Green Zone, according to the Journal. 

The purpose of the communities is to provide housing, schools, and hospitals for displaced Gazans outside of Hamas influence, while the large-scale reconstruction of Gaza is planned and carried out. Planning for the temporary communities is being carried out at the ceasefire headquarters in southern Israel, the Journal reported. 

No construction work has begun, as the development is still in the planning stage. Currently, work is focused on debris removal and the disposal of unexploded ordnance. 

Want to help more people find our reporting from Israel? Leave a quick Google review of our website here.