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At least 100 Palestinians, including 46 children and 20 women, have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza, according to local health officials, as the Israeli military said it will continue to uphold a fragile ceasefire in the enclave. Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza late on Tuesday, saying it acted after an attack by Palestinian militants killed one soldier, in the latest challenge to the US-brokered ceasefire. The Gaza health ministry said that dozens of children and women were among the 104 people killed in Israeli strikes since Tuesday, with videos showing several bodies of women and children inside a hospital during funeral processions. Israel and militant group Hamas have blamed each other for breaches of the truce while US President Donald Trump insisted the ceasefire was not at risk, even as Israeli planes struck across Gaza. The Israeli military said in a statement that it would continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and would respond firmly to "any violation". "As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier," Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. "So the Israelis hit back and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back," he added. The Israeli military confirmed the soldier's death on Wednesday. "Nothing is going to jeopardise" the ceasefire, Mr Trump said. "You have to understand Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave." Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer said he was “deeply concerned” by the fresh Israeli strikes in Gaza and called for all sides to uphold the ceasefire deal. The Prime Minister told MPs that Britain is in “close touch” with the US and regional allies pushing for de-escalation following the resumption of military activity overnight. Some displaced Palestinians feared the truce was falling apart. Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three children, recalled the sounds of explosions throughout the night, a reminder of a war that has killed tens of thousands. "It was one of the worst nights since the ceasefire was signed. The sounds of explosions and planes made us feel as if war had started again," Zayda, who lives in tents in western Gaza City with his 25-member family, told Reuters via a chat app. An Israeli military official said Hamas had violated the ceasefire by carrying out an attack against Israeli forces who were stationed within the so-called "yellow line", the deployment line agreed upon in the ceasefire. Hamas denied responsibility for the attack on Israeli forces in Rafah, in southern Gaza, and said in a statement that it remained committed to the ceasefire deal. The agreement went into effect on October 10, halting two years of war triggered by deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Under the accord, Hamas released all living hostages in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees, while Israel pulled back its troops and halted its offensive. Hamas also agreed to hand over the remains of all dead hostages yet to be recovered, but has said that it will take time to locate and retrieve all of the bodies. Israel says the militant group can access the remains of most of the hostages. The issue has become one of the main sticking points in the ceasefire, which Mr Trump says he is watching closely. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said human remains handed over on Monday night belonged to an Israeli killed during Hamas' October 7 attack, whose body was recovered by Israeli forces in the early weeks of fighting. The Israeli military said that Hamas had planted the remains at an excavation site before calling in a Red Cross team and pretending it had found a missing hostage, to create a "false impression of efforts to locate bodies". A 14-minute video, which has not been verified, published by the military showed three men placing a white bag at an excavation site and then covering it with earth and rocks. Hamas did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The ICRC said its team was unaware that the remains had been planted at the site before their arrival. "It is unacceptable that a fake recovery was staged, when so much depends on this agreement being upheld and when so many families are still anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones," the ICRC said in a statement.
