Israel strikes Gaza as Netanyahu orders 'powerful attacks'

Israel's prime minister has accused Hamas of breaching the Gaza ceasefire. Israel also accused the militants of returning the wrong hostage remains.

Israel launched strikes on Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of violating a ceasefire and ordered the military to carry out "powerful" attacks.

A statement from Netanyahu's office did not specify the reason for the strikes, but an Israeli military official said Hamas breached the truce by attacking Israeli forces in a controlled area.

Netanyahu also accused Hamas of violating the agreement by returning the wrong remains during a hostage repatriation process. Israel said the remains were those of Ofir Tzarfati, whose body was recovered nearly two years ago, calling the handover a "clear violation" of the US-brokered deal.

Hamas said it recovered another hostage's body Tuesday but delayed the handover after Israel announced plans to strike Gaza.

It was a round-up of developments in Israel, Gaza and the wider Middle East on Tuesday, October 28. This blog is now closed.