by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] The Gaza Strip is once again in turmoil. After a brief pause, Israel has resumed strikes on the enclave, simultaneously accusing the Palestinian side of increasingly frequent manipulation of hostage bodies.
Hamas mirrors these attacks, calling Tel Aviv's rhetoric an attempt to derail the settlement and renew the war.
At the same time, the US turns a blind eye to the squabbles between the two opponents, continuing to address related peacekeeping issues.
NEW VIOLATIONS
A serious escalation of tensions in the enclave occurred on October 28 following a series of sporadic clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas loyalists across the demarcation line (the so-called "Yellow Line"). At least one Israeli casualty was reported.
Israel's response to the escalation was swift and asymmetrical: the military launched missile, bomb, and artillery strikes against the enclave's largest population centers.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the Bureij camp (central Gaza), several neighborhoods in Gaza, Rafah, and Khan Yunis came under fire. The incident killed 26 people, and injured dozens more to varying degrees.
The strikes continued on the morning of October 29, but they were more of a demonstration, with the main targets being the roads leading to Gaza and Khan Younis. Nevertheless, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reports that the enclave is still feeling the effects of the first wave of strikes: the death toll by mid-October 29 had risen to 65.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office isn't seeking flexible language to describe the situation. Official reports confirm that the order for new "powerful attacks" was a direct consequence of localized clashes in Gaza.
Although the main attacks on the enclave ceased by midday, and the “silence regime” was officially restored, Tel Aviv is not ruling out new punitive actions against Hamas.
SLOW DOWN THE PROCESS
At the same time, scandals are multiplying regarding the delays in returning the bodies of the dead Israeli hostages.
Hamas' leadership insists that it is fully fulfilling its obligations under the agreement, including conducting proactive searches for dead Israelis in high-risk areas, risking the lives of its members.
At the same time, Tel Aviv is convinced that the Palestinian resistance knows the burial site of at least eight more victims, but they are deliberately not disclosing this information, seeking to delay and bureaucratize the process as much as possible.
Moreover, according to Israeli security officials, Hamas is barely allowing Egyptian and Jordanian rescuers who arrived in the enclave to help search for bodies access to the process. Or it is deliberately providing them with false coordinates, thereby further blurring the search area.
The purpose of these seemingly strange manipulations is quite simple: while the Palestinian side is busy returning the bodies, international mediators cannot fully move on to the next step of the peace plan: the disarmament of local armed groups.
And since the guarantors of the new deal, led by Donald Trump, had previously given the go-ahead for the exchanges to take place without a clear deadline, Hamas has no reason to rush.
TWICE EXCHANGED
Public discontent in Israel is fueled by publications by the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine, whose staff are authorized by the authorities to identify the remains of hostages handed over to Hamas.
The last few procedures have led experts to a disappointing conclusion: the bodies returned over the past week mostly belong to unidentified residents of the enclave and were not previously included in the exchange lists.
Consequently, Hamas still has 13 unreturned hostages, while the Palestinian side claims that only 7 remain.
Moreover, in order to consolidate the statistics of bodies handed over and reduce the overall gap, representatives of the movement are increasingly resorting to additional tricks, allegedly handing over those who have already been buried.
A striking example of this is Ofir Tsarfati,
| .,.previously in our archive as Ofir Tzarfati… |
| In other words, the IDF found his body and brought it back, no thanks to Hamas. |
| Some parts of his body, anyway, which Hamas brought to the site and buried, then “rediscovered” and dug up again, all unwittingly watched — and taped — by an IDF drone. Which tape Israel shared widely, so now everyone is annoyed with Hamas… |
| Remarkable, indeed. |
| From the video. Mustn’t forget the video. |
And given that the Israeli side does not disclose the location of the grave of the “twice returned,” citing privacy, questions about this version only multiply.
Hamas, however, believes Israel is deliberately stirring up the scandal to portray the Palestinians as incapable of reaching an agreement and renew the military campaign, but this time under the slogan of vengeance for the restless.
TRUMP'S OPTIMISM
Despite the fact that the frequency of violations of the ceasefire is increasing and Hamas is demonstrating increasing nervousness towards official Tel Aviv, the White House believes that there are no problems with maintaining the peace agreement.
Thus, amid renewed Israeli attacks, President Donald Trump told reporters that Tel Aviv "has the right to defend itself," especially in cases where it has suffered confirmed losses.
With this statement, Trump effectively officially confirmed Israel's right to asymmetrical responses without damaging the settlement, and given the overall vagueness of the wording, he also left the Israelis with the right to determine the scale of retaliatory actions.
Trump's optimism is understandable: just days earlier, he had managed to clarify the contours of Gaza's future post-war structure. Specifically, he had reached an agreement with Qatar on the training (and, more importantly, funding) of an international peacekeeping force.
Prior to this, Egypt and Jordan had also volunteered to independently train new Palestinian “security forces.”
In other words, the foundation for the long-term peace settlement the Republican envisioned is close to completion. The subsequent responsibility for maintaining stability in the enclave will fall to other countries. This means that any hypothetical breakdowns in the settlement will do virtually no damage to Trump's reputation as a peacemaker.
Related:
Ofir Tzarfati 10/29/2025 Israeli army carried out a series of airstrikes in Gaza near the al-Shifa hospital, killed 30 across Gaza after Hamas pretended to find body they just buried
Ofir Tzarfati 10/28/2025 Hamas says it handed over one hostage’s remains to Red Cross; Israel working to ID body UPDATE: partial remains of hostage corpse IDF recovered in 2023, Israel furious about Hamas games
Ofir Tzarfati 08/16/2024 IDF: Dozens of tunnels razed on Gaza-Egypt border, 17,000 terror operatives killed in war
Ofir Tzarfati 10/29/2025 Israeli army carried out a series of airstrikes in Gaza near the al-Shifa hospital, killed 30 across Gaza after Hamas pretended to find body they just buried
Ofir Tzarfati 10/28/2025 Hamas says it handed over one hostage’s remains to Red Cross; Israel working to ID body UPDATE: partial remains of hostage corpse IDF recovered in 2023, Israel furious about Hamas games
Ofir Tzarfati 08/16/2024 IDF: Dozens of tunnels razed on Gaza-Egypt border, 17,000 terror operatives killed in war