The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said on Saturday that attacks in Gaza were carried out in response to what it described as a ceasefire violation, identifying eight terrorists who abandoned the underground terror infrastructure in eastern Rafah.
The IDF said it struck four commanders and additional terrorists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as a weapons cache. A weapons production site and two Hamas launch sites in central Gaza were also hit, the IDF said.
Gaza hospitals run by the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry said at least 30 Palestinians were killed in the attacks, according to The Associated Press.
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Rescuers carry the body of a victim amid rubble after an Israeli airstrike on a police station in Gaza City on January 31, 2026, the Hamas-led Health Ministry in Gaza said. (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images)
Hospital officials said the casualties included civilians. They said the victims included two women and six children from two different families. An airstrike also hit a police station in Gaza City, killing at least 14 people and wounding others, said Mohamed Abu Selmiya, director of Shifa Hospital.
The attacks came a day after Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire. An Israeli military official told the AP that the strikes were carried out in response to ceasefire violations, but declined to comment on specific targets.
The violence came a day before the Rafah border crossing with Egypt was due to reopen, a move seen as a key step in the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire. That phase includes limited border reopenings, efforts to demilitarize Gaza and discussions about post-war governance.
Israel has said the Rafah crossing has been a focal point of concerns over weapons smuggling by Hamas, and that security arrangements would accompany any reopening.
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Rescue workers carry the body of a victim amid rubble after an Israeli airstrike on a police station in Gaza City on January 31, 2026, the Hamas-led Health Ministry in Gaza said. (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel agreed to a “limited reopening” of the border crossing under President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
Israel has said it continues to carry out attacks across the region in response to violations of ceasefire agreements. On Friday, the Israeli army said it had struck Hezbollah infrastructure and engineering vehicles in southern Lebanon, accusing the group of attempting to restore terror infrastructure in violation of agreements with Israel.
Meanwhile, a senior Israeli military official acknowledged that the IDF believes the Hamas-led Health Ministry’s total death toll from the war is largely accurate, according to The times of Israel. The military estimates that about 70,000 Gazans have been killed during the more than two-year conflict sparked by the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
Rescuers and onlookers stand amid the rubble of a police station after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on January 31, 2026, the Hamas-led Health Ministry in Gaza said. (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images)
Gaza’s Health Ministry currently reports 71,667 deaths, including more than 450 since the October 2025 ceasefire, although Israeli officials said the estimate does not include bodies believed to be buried under rubble.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has said that 509 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire began on October 10.
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Israel also returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians on Thursday, days after recovering the remains of the last Israeli hostage, a Gaza Health Ministry official said, according to the AP.
The transfer marked the final exchange of hostages and detainees in the first phase of the ceasefire.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
