Israel claimed that it carried out dozens of strikes Israel on Hamas positions in southern Gaza Sunday came after the militant group allegedly targeted its troops in “a blatant violation” of the nine-day-old truce.
Asked by reporters whether the truce was still in effect, Trump said: “Yeah, it is”. The US president, who helped broker the deal, also suggested that Hamas leadership was not involved in any alleged breaches, instead blaming “some rebels within.”

“We want to make sure that it’s going to be very peaceful with Hamas,” Trump said. “It’s going to be handled toughly, but properly.”

Gaza’s civil defense agency said the Israeli strikes killed at least 45 people across the territory.

Four hospitals in Gaza confirmed the death toll of 45 to AFP, saying they had received the dead and wounded.

Israel’s military said it was looking into the reports of casualties.

The army said it had “renewed enforcement of the ceasefire” on Sunday but vowed to “respond firmly to any violation of it.”

Hamas denied the accusations, one official accusing Israel of fabricating “pretexts” to resume the war.

A security official also told AFP that Israel was suspending the entry of aid into Gaza due to ceasefire violations.

Israel repeatedly cut off aid to Gaza during the war, exacerbating dire humanitarian conditions, with the United Nations finding it caused a famine there.

‘Blood has returned’
The ceasefire, which began on October 10, halted more than two years of devastating war between Israel and Hamas.

The deal established the outline for hostage and prisoner exchanges, and proposed an ambitious roadmap for Gaza’s future. But it has quickly faced challenges to its implementation.

Israel said on Sunday that two of its soldiers died in clashes in the city of Rafah.

“Earlier today, terrorists fired anti-tank missiles and opened fire on IDF (Israeli army) forces,” in Rafah, the military said in a statement. “The IDF responded with air strikes by fighter jets and artillery fire, targeting the Rafah area.”

Palestinian witnesses told AFP clashes erupted in the southern city in an area still held by Israel.

One witness, a 38-year-old man who asked not to be named, said that Hamas had been fighting a local Palestinian gang known as Abu Shabab but the militants were “surprised by the presence of army tanks.”

“The air force conducted two strikes from the air,” he added.

Abdullah Abu Hasanin, 29, from Al?Bureij camp in central Gaza where Israel launched strikes, said: “The situation is as if the war has returned anew.

“We had hoped the agreement would hold, but the occupation respects nothing — not an agreement, not anything.”

He said he had rushed to the site of the bombing to help, adding: “The scene is indescribable. Blood has returned again.”

‘Security illusion’
AFP images from Bureij showed Palestinians running for cover from the strikes, as well as the dead and wounded arriving at Deir al-Balah hospital, accompanied by grieving relatives.

Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Hamas would “pay a heavy price for every shot and every breach of the ceasefire”, adding Israel’s response would “become increasingly severe.”

A statement from Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, reaffirmed the group’s commitment to the ceasefire.

Israel, it said, “continues to breach the agreement and fabricate flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes.”

Hamas’s armed wing insisted on Sunday that it had “no knowledge” of any clashes in Rafah.

On Sunday, US Vice President JD Vance called on Gulf Arab countries to establish a “security infrastructure” to ensure that Hamas disarmed — a key part of the peace deal.

Under Trump’s 20-point plan, Israeli forces have withdrawn beyond the so-called Yellow Line. That leaves them in control of around half of Gaza, including the territory’s borders but not its main cities.

Bodies returned
Hamas in turn has released 20 surviving hostages and is in the process of returning the remaining bodies of those who have died.

Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Sunday, bringing the total number handed over to 150, the health ministry in the territory said.

Israel has linked the reopening of the Rafah crossing — the main gateway into Gaza — to the recovery of all of the deceased.

Hamas has said it needs time and technical assistance to recover the remaining bodies from under Gaza’s rubble.

Israel has killed at least 68,159 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.

Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

With AFP.

Why it matters: An Israeli apology over the strike was a key Qatari condition for resuming its negotiations with Hamas over a deal to end the war in Gaza and free the remaining hostages. The apology call, which happened during Netanyahu's meeting with President Trump, could clear the way for such a deal.

Speaking in his first address to the U.N. General Assembly, Pezeshkian said the U.S.’s June strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities came as Iran was engaged in diplomatic negotiations, and he warned that such actions threatened to erode the foundations of global stability.

"The aerial assault … constituted a grave betrayal of diplomacy and a subversion of efforts toward the establishment of stability and peace," the president said.

"This brazen aggression, in addition to murdering citizens, women, scientists and intellectual elites of my country, inflicted a grievous blow upon the prospect of peace in the region."

IRAN DOUBLES DOWN ON REFUSAL TO END NUCLEAR PROGRAM, READY FOR WAR WITH ISRAEL

In June, seven U.S. B-2 bombers dropped 30,000-pound "bunker buster" bombs on Iran’s nuclear sites. The U.S. declared the mission a success, and former President Donald Trump said Iran’s nuclear program was "totally obliterated."

The president, however, claimed Iran never had intentions to develop a nuclear weapon and only enriched uranium for civil nuclear purposes.

"We do not seek the weapons. This is our belief based on the edict issued by the Supreme Leader and by religious authorities," Pezeshkian said.

"We never sought weapons of mass destruction, nor will we ever seek them."

He accused Washington and its allies of a double standard, pointing to U.S. support for Israel in Gaza and other regional conflicts, while casting Iran as the victim of aggression that has killed civilians, scientists, and journalists.

Pezeshkian tied the strikes against Iran to what he described as a broader pattern of Western-backed aggression across the Middle East, citing Israel’s offensive in Gaza as "genocide" and denouncing the "Greater Israel" project as a delusional scheme destabilizing the entire region. He accused the U.S. of enabling Israel’s actions in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, and urged Muslim states to unite in collective defense.

"The world in these two years has witnessed a genocide in Gaza, the destruction of homes in Lebanon, the devastation of Syria’s infrastructure, the assault against the people of Yemen, and the assassination of Iran’s scientists," Pezeshkian said.

"All of this under the full support of the most heavily armed regime on the face of the earth, under the pretext of self-defense. Would you countenance such things for yourselves?"

The Iranian leader portrayed his country as resilient in the face of pressure, insisting that military and economic coercion has backfired.

"The patriotic and valiant people of Iran laid bare before the aggressors the fallacy and self-destruction of their arrogant calculations," he said. "The enemies of Iran unwittingly fortified the sacred national unity. The people of Iran, despite the most severe, protracted and crushing economic sanctions … rise in unison in support of their valiant armed forces."

Pezeshkian’s remarks also underscored the depth of Iran’s hostility toward Israel.

He declared that those responsible for targeting children in Gaza "are not worthy of the name human being" and said such crimes prove Israel "shall never prove to be trustworthy partners."

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LIVE: Over 40 Palestinians killed as Trump says Israel agrees to Gaza truce

Trump says Israel agrees terms for ceasefire, urges Hamas to accept
By Virginia Pietromarchi and Tim Hume
Published On 2 Jul 2025
2 Jul 2025
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Israeli forces have killed at least 43 Palestinians across Gaza as they target aid seekers and displaced people sheltering in tents.
More than 600 Palestinians have been killed in just five weeks while waiting for food parcels at the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites.
US President Donald Trump says Israel has agreed to “the necessary conditions to finalise” a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, and urges Hamas to accept the proposal.
Officials at al-Shifa, the largest medical centre in northern Gaza, say hundreds of patients are “facing death” as the hospital runs out of fuel amid Israel’s blockade.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 56,647 people and wounded 134,105, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7 attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.