JERUSALEM/CAIRO — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military on Tuesday to immediately “carry out powerful attacks” in Gaza after accusing the militant group Hamas of violating a ceasefire agreement in the Palestinian territory.

A statement by Netanyahu’s office said he had ordered the attacks but did not specify the reason. However an Israeli military official said Hamas violated the ceasefire by carrying out an attack against Israeli forces in an area of the enclave that is under Israeli control.

“This is yet another blatant violation of the ceasefire,” the official said.

Netanyahu Accuses Hamas of Violating Ceasefire

Netanyahu earlier accused Hamas of violating the weeks-old agreement by turning over some wrong remains in a process of returning the bodies of hostages to Israel.

Hamas initially said in response to this that it would hand over to Israel on Tuesday the body of a missing hostage found in a tunnel in Gaza. However, Hamas’ armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, said later it would postpone the planned handover, citing what it said were Israel’s violations of the ceasefire.

Israeli media earlier reported an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the reports.

Hamas said it was complying with the ceasefire terms and Netanyahu was looking for excuses to back away from Israel’s obligations.

A U.S.-backed ceasefire agreement went into effect on October 10, halting two years of war that was triggered by deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Both sides have accused each other of violations.

Under the ceasefire terms, Hamas released all living hostages in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian convicts and wartime detainees, while Israel pulled back its troops and halted its offensive.

Search for Hostage Bodies

Hamas has 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 the bodies in the enclave, which has been devastated by two years of war. 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 U.S. President Donald Trump says he is watching closely.

The search for hostage bodies stepped up over the past few days after the arrival of heavy machinery from Egypt. Bulldozers were working in Khan Younis on Tuesday, in the southern Gaza Strip, and further north in Nuseirat, as Hamas fighters deployed around them.

Some of the bodies are believed to be in Hamas’ network of tunnels running below Gaza.

Gaza health authorities say 68,000 people are confirmed killed in the Israeli strikes and thousands more are missing. Israel launched the war after Hamas-led fighters stormed through southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and bringing 251 hostages back to Gaza.

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(Additional reporting by Tamar Uriel-Beeri in Jerusalem; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Peter Graff and Frances Kerry)