Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu orders ‘immediate and powerful strikes’ on Gaza after accusing Hamas of violating ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his military to immediately carry out "powerful strikes" on the Gaza strip.

He accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire after Israel reported that the terror group had opened fire on its forces in southern Gaza and had returned a "faked" set of hostage remains.

"Following the security consultations, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the military echelon to carry out powerful strikes in the Gaza Strip immediately," a statement from Mr Netanyahu's office said.

Israel says a coffin handed over by Hamas on Monday did not contain the body of another dead hostage.

Forensic tests showed the remains were Ofir Tzarfati whose body was recovered by Israeli forces in late 2023 and not to any of the 13 dead hostages still in Gaza, the office said.

The office accused Hamas of a "clear violation" of the two-week ceasefire in Gaza.

Hamas has said it is committed to the deal which was brokered by the US, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.

It has said it needs help to find remains of hostages buried under the rubble left by two years of the war.

Hamas has responded by accusing Israel of “fabricating false pretexts”.

The terror group released a statement earlier today saying Israel is obstructing its efforts to search for bodies in the Strip.

They called on mediators to “allow the relevant bodies to carry out their humanitarian tasks away from political and aggressive calculations”.