Israel has, once again, bombarded Gaza with air strikes, killing over 100 people. And, in a classic case of not reporting the real stories, mainstream media have failed to mention Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial which was due to begin yesterday, October 28. The butcher of Palestine was due to face charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust related to regulatory favours in exchange for expensive gifts. But, the trial was conveniently cut short due to supposed “urgent security developments”.

Shortly afterwards, Netanyahu held a security cabinet session, and decided to renew airstrikes in Gaza, and also to advance plans to expand the “yellow line,” so as to expand the territory which the Israeli occupation controls in Gaza. 

Netanyahu continues genocidal rampage

Following this security consultation, Netanyahu instructed the military to “immediately carry out powerful strikes in the Gaza Strip”, blaming Hamas for allegedly violating the ceasefire agreement.

Of course, Netanyahu has been looking for an excuse to continue the slaughter in Gaza and, according to Israeli media, was yesterday discussing with the White House what to do about Hamas’ failure to, so far, return all the bodies of the Israeli prisoners.

In Phase One of Trump’s ‘Peace Plan’, Hamas was given 72 hours to return the Israeli prisoners – whether dead or alive. But the job of locating these bodies, under 80 million tonnes of rubble, has been almost impossible. Hamas says it remains committed to the ceasefire, and continues to find bodies, but needs help and more time to do so. It says that ‘Israel’ has:

explicitly refused to allow joint teams from the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Palestinian Resistance, to enter several areas in the Gaza Strip to carry out this task. The occupation has also prevented the entry of the necessary heavy equipment to speed up the search for the Israeli bodies, but has also deepened the suffering of Palestinian families looking for their loved ones, by obstructing the recovery of the 10,000 Palestinians still buried under the rubble.

Netanyahu orders ‘powerful strikes’ on the Strip

Several hours before Netanyahu gave orders for “powerful strikes” to hit the people of Gaza, as if they knew what was about to come, Hamas released a statement saying the occupation’s claims that the Resistance has slowed down are “baseless allegations aimed at misleading public opinion.” Instead, Hamas said:

The occupation is seeking to fabricate false pretexts in preparation for taking new aggressive steps against our people, in a flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement.

Netanyahu had apparently not given go ahead for military action against Hamas yesterday. The supposed ‘attack’ on the IOF changed this.

Israeli media says discussions took place between Netanyahu and the White House throughout yesterday, about the course of action to take. They claim that Netanyahu had wanted Trump to give him the go ahead to take military action against Hamas, but this did not happen.

The Israeli occupation then, conveniently, accused Hamas of carrying out an attack on its forces in Rafah. But the group has denied any connection to the incident and says it:

reaffirms its commitment to the ceasefire agreement.

This is the second time in just over a week that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have accused Hamas of launching an attack against them in Rafah. The first time this happened, the IOF lies were exposed, and the same will likely happen again. Rafah, like more than 50 percent of the Strip, is still largely under the control of the IOF and armed gangs backed by the Israeli regime, so the claim about the attack by Hamas is surprising.  

‘Constant state of fear’

Yesterday, before the wave of strikes took place, the Canary asked Palestinian Journalist Ibrahim Khalili how Palestinans are currently feeling about the situation they have been enduring for so long now.

He told us:

Right now, people are living in a state of constant fear and exhaustion. Even though there’s talk about ceasefires or pauses, the bombings haven’t truly stopped. Every night, the sounds of drones and explosions continue. Many families have lost their homes and are struggling to find food clean water or medicine. People are emotionally drained but also resilient. There’s anger, sadness, and disbelief that the world is still watching this happen. Yet at the same time, there’s a strong sense of unity among people. Everyone is helping each other survive, sharing whatever little they have left.

Netanyahu’s order to launch renewed strikes on the enclave comes less than three weeks since the ceasefire was agreed upon. After Israel’s attack killed over 100 Palestinians, Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigade, postponed the handover of any more bodies of Israeli captives until further notice. This includes the two bodies pulled from the rubble yesterday, which were due to be returned later that same day. Unlike Netanyahu, and ‘Israel’, Hamas had been calling for a ceasefire for a long time time, and has nothing to gain from breaking the ceasefire agreement.

Since yesterday evening, intense and heavy bombardment has pounded the Gaza Strip, in clear violation of the ceasefire agreement. Homes, tents sheltering forcibly displaced people, and refugee camps have all been targeted by the IOF.

Areas that were targeted include the Al Sabra neighbourhood of Southern Gaza City, where a drone strike hit the home of the Al- Banna family, killing four Palestinians, and injuring nine more. Several people remain buried under the rubble, with the Civil Defense continuing to work without any of the necessary equipment, trying to rescue them.

More than numbers

Five people were killed when a civilian vehicle was targeted on Al-Qassam Street in Gaza City. The IOF also bombed several homes in Al-Nuseirat Refugee Camp, central Gaza Strip. Children from the Abu Dalal family were murdered, along with their parents and extended family.

Also in Al- Nuseirat Refugee Camp, at dawn this morning, the IOF killed Palestinian Journalist Mohammad Al-Munirawi, along with his wife, after bombing their tent. Munirawi worked for Falesteen News. This brings the total number of journalists killed by the occupation, since October 7, 2023, to 256.

Trump: “Israel’ has a right to hit back

Meanwhile, genocide overseers Donald Trump and US Vice President JD Vance have been downplaying the current situation, and continue to insist “the ceasefire is holding.”

Vance said:

That doesn’t mean that there aren’t going to be little skirmishes.

That obscene remark stands in stark contrast to the hundreds of lives, each of them entire universes, erased by genocidal Israel. Meanwhile, Trump defended the latest death and destruction in Gaza, claiming the Israeli regime has a right to “hit back” if its troops are attacked, and “nothing” would jeopardise the ceasefire agreement.

As of Midday October 28, the Israeli occupation has systematically violated the ceasefire agreement, committing 125 violations since it came into effect, on October 11. The regime has killed around 95 civilians and injured almost 340. According to the government Media Office, occupation forces have carried out 52 shooting incidents directly targeting civilians, nine incursions by military vehicles into residential areas beyond the “yellow line”, as well as 55 bombardments and attacks and 11 demolitions of civilian buildings, as well as the arrest of 21 citizens in various parts of the Gaza Strip. And yet, Trump warned that it is Hamas who have to “behave.”

Systematic ceasefire violations by Israeli regime

Even though there is a so-called ‘ceasefire’ in Gaza, the Israeli occupation has not stopped its genocide. The bombing and war crimes have continued, and so have ‘Israel’s’ ceasefire violations. The humanitarian situation in Gaza has been rapidly deteriorating as a result.

Before the start of the genocide, an average of 500 aid trucks were entering Gaza daily. Phase One of the stipulations of the ceasefire was for an agreed number of aid trucks to enter the territory unimpeded, every day. This number is widely believed to be around 600, but the Israeli occupation has, yet again, failed to honour the ceasefire commitment, and preventing the majority of the crossings into Gaza from opening.

Between October 11, 2025 – the  date of the ‘ceasefire’ and October 28, before Netanyahu officially launched airstrikes, almost 100 Palestinians had been killed by the Israeli regime, and more than 340 injured. A total of almost 475 bodies had been retrieved.

Hamas is calling on the mediators and guarantors of the ceasefire agreement to

take immediate action to pressure the occupation, curb its brutal escalation against civilians in the Gaza Strip, halt its serious violations of the ceasefire agreement, and compel it to abide by all its terms.

Such a scenario would be a first for Israel.

Featured image via the Canary

By Charlie Jaay

This post was originally published on Canary.