Following severe bombings throughout the Palestinian territory overnight that killed 104 people, including 66 women and children, Israel's military declared on Wednesday that the truce in Gaza was back in effect.
The strikes represented the most significant threat to the precarious truce to yet and were the deadliest since the ceasefire started on October 10.
The bombardment demonstrated Israel's willingness to launch a heavy attack on what it claims are ceasefire violations by Hamas. The extremist group, meanwhile, accuses Israel of violating the law and denies any responsibility.
The Israeli military claimed to have carried out another airstrike in northern Gaza after declaring the ceasefire had been restored, targeting a location it claimed was used to store weapons for an impending onslaught.

According to Gaza City's Al-Shifa Hospital, the strike claimed two lives.
The recent bloodshed increases the burden on the United States to maintain the ceasefire. While defending Israel's strikes, U.S. President Donald Trump emphasised that the escalation would not endanger the peace.
Israel claimed their midnight attacks were a response to an Israeli soldier who was shot and killed in Gaza's southernmost city, Rafah. Additionally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hamas had broken the agreement pertaining to the return of hostage remains.
Israel was accused of "a blatant violation of the ceasefire deal" by Hamas, which denied any participation in the lethal shooting. It further stated that due of the strikes, it would postpone giving Israel the body of another hostage.

Deadly attacks throughout Gaza
Early on Wednesday morning, the strikes in Gaza battered tent camps and buildings that housed displaced families.
Hospital entrances were clogged with ambulances and tiny trucks transporting bodies. Bodies were carried on mattresses or hauled in on stretchers in Deir al-Balah. One man entered a hospital with a small child's body in tow.
Haneen Mteir, whose sister and nephews were killed in a strike, said outside the mortuary at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, "They burned children while they were asleep."According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the overnight attacks killed at least 104 individuals, including 20 women and 46 children, and injured 253 more, the majority of them were women and children.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Israeli military claimed to have hit dozens of Hamas targets, including tunnels, observation stations, weapons storage, people, and mortar fire positions.
It claimed to have struck several high-ranking Hamas combatants, including 21 commanders at different levels. According to the announcement, they included terrorists who took part in the Hamas-led offensive on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the conflict. One such fighter was Hatem Maher Mousa Qudra, the leader of Nukhba company, who spearheaded the assault on the Ein Hashlosha Kibbutz.

"We will continue to respond firmly and act decisively to eliminate any threat to the State of Israel," the military declared.
Oren Marmorstein, a spokesman for Israel's Foreign Ministry, blamed Hamas for the fallout from their ceasefire violation and ascribed the high death toll to the militant organization's use of civilians as human shields.
Israel has frequently attacked people it claims are Hamas leaders during the conflict when they are in their houses or shelters, where their families are present along with other families.
How the strikes came about
The 37-year-old Rafah soldier, named as Master Sgt. Yona Efraim Feldbaum, was killed by "enemy fire" that struck his vehicle on Tuesday, an Israeli military spokesman said on Wednesday.Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, the official said Israeli troops in the region were attacked many times Tuesday while they attempted to demolish Hamas equipment and tunnels. According to satellite images, the Israeli force has destroyed almost every building in Rafah and levelled the entire city in recent months.
Hamas reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire, stated it was not involved in the shooting in Rafah, and urged mediators to put pressure on Israel to halt.

Trump stands up for Israel
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Marmorstein, claimed the strikes were carried out in complete collaboration with the United States and that Washington was notified of them.
During a tour to Asia, Trump supported the strikes, claiming that Israel had good reason to carry them out after Hamas killed the Israeli soldier, who was also a citizen of the United States.
Trump stated that when Israel's military are attacked, they "should hit back." However, because "Hamas is a very small part of the overall Middle East peace," he added he is still sure the ceasefire would withstand the increase in violence. They must also act appropriately.
Trump went on to say that they would be "terminated" otherwise.