The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, established under the Sharm el-Sheikh peace deal hyped by U.S. President Donald Trump as a historic breakthrough, faced a severe setback today when Palestinian terror operatives attacked Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) troops in the Rafah area of southern Gaza. The incident, described by the IDF as a blatant violation of the agreement, involved RPG and sniper fire targeting troops operating east of the so-called Yellow Line, an area retained under Israeli control as per the deal.
In response, the IDF initiated a wave of airstrikes and artillery shelling on Hamas terror targets in southern Gaza, striking over 20 sites including tunnels and buildings where operatives were identified. This escalation comes amid U.S. warnings of an imminent Hamas attack on Gaza civilians, further straining the truce.
In response to the blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement earlier today, the IDF has begun a series of strikes against Hamas terror targets in the southern Gaza.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 19, 2025
The attack occurred on Sunday morning when terror operatives fired RPGs and snipers at IDF troops in eastern Rafah. The troops who came under attack had been operating on the eastern side of the Yellow Line to destroy terror infrastructure in the area “in accordance with the agreement” with Hamas, as per IDF. No Israeli injuries were reported, but the incident followed similar breaches on Friday, including gunfire from a tunnel in Rafah and an approach by operatives in Khan Younis, both met with IDF airstrikes.
However, Hamas denied responsibility for the attacks. They claimed that the incident took place in territories under Israeli control, and that they have no communication with their members stranded in the area for several months.
Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq accused Israel of ongoing violations and claimed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was evading commitments under pressure from his coalition. Some Hamas-affiliated media claimed the attack targeted Yasser Abu Shabab, leader of a militia allegedly supported by Israel in the controlled zone.
Led by the Southern Command, the IDF launched immediate retaliatory strikes on Hamas targets in southern Gaza, focusing on removing threats in Rafah and reportedly extending to areas near Deir al-Balah. Several tunnels and buildings with terror operatives were spotted during the operation, and were destroyed. Over 20 targets were hit by Israel. Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 11 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the territory on Sunday, including six in the north.
Netanyahu ordered firm action against terror targets, while Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Hamas would face heavy consequences for violations, with escalating responses if needed.
Concurrently, the IDF began physically marking the Yellow Line with yellow concrete blocks and signs to clearly delineate boundaries and warn against crossings, following Katz’s directive to respond with fire to any violations. Recent days have seen IDF forces kill several Palestinians for allegedly crossing this line and posing threats.
This latest escalation shows that while Hamas returned the hostages after the peace deal, there is long way to go before actual peace in the region. Hamas has rejected key provisions of Trump’s 20-point peace formula, including complete disarmament and staying away from power in Gaza. On the other hand, Israel has said it will continue targeting Hamas if they comply with all the provisions of the deal.
The ceasefire, part of Trump’s broader twenty-point Gaza peace plan, has been tenuous since its implementation earlier in October 2025. Israel withdrew to the Yellow Line on October 10, encompassing about 53% of Gaza’s territory, primarily non-urban areas. Under the terms, Hamas released all living hostages and began returning bodies of deceased captives, while Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including 250 serving life sentences for terror convictions.
As of late Saturday, October 18, the remains of 10 out of 28 deceased hostages had been returned, with two more received that day awaiting formal identification.
Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Deal
The Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit, held on October 13, 2025, in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, marked the formal signing of the “Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity,” co-chaired by President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Attended by leaders from over 30 countries and organizations, including Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, but notably absent Israel and Hamas, the summit endorsed Trump’s twenty-point Gaza peace plan as a roadmap to end the conflict.
Trump played a decisive role in brokering the deal, hyping it as a “historic breakthrough” and “new dawn in the Middle East,” stating during the signing that “this took 3,000 years to get to this point” and that it would “hold up.” He described the agreement as “unthinkable” and the answer to “prayers of millions,” emphasizing that the hardest part was done and rebuilding would follow.
Key elements of Trump’s twenty-point plan, which the summit declaration supported, include Immediate ceasefire and phased Israeli withdrawal to a security perimeter, hostage and prisoner exchanges, Demilitarization of Gaza, exclusion of Hamas from governance, and transition to a technocratic Palestinian administration under international oversight.
However, with the latest developments, the peace deal seems to be falling apart, as Isael and Hamas resume attacking each other.
