<p>Despite a United States-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Israeli forces launched a “targeted strike” in central Gaza, claiming to have hit an Islamic Jihad operative allegedly planning an attack on Israeli troops.</p> <p>Witnesses told news agency Reuters that a drone had struck a car, setting it ablaze, and local medics said four people were injured, with no immediate reports of fatalities. The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad dismissed Israel’s claim of an imminent attack as a “mere fallacious allegation” but did not confirm whether any of its members had been killed in the strike.</p> <p>Residents also said Israeli tanks fired shells in the eastern parts of Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban area.</p> <h3>Netanyahu Vows To Retain Israeli Control On Security: 'We Will Determine Our Fate'</h3> <p>According to news agency AFP, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ministers on Sunday that Israel would maintain full authority over its own security despite the truce.</p> <p>“Israel is an independent state. We will defend ourselves by our own means and we will continue to determine our fate,” Netanyahu declared. “We do not seek anyone’s approval for this. We control our security.”</p> <p>The Israeli Prime Minister said the country would decide where and when to strike and which countries would be permitted to send troops to oversee the ceasefire. Under the terms of the US-mediated truce, international forces — primarily from Arab or Muslim countries — are expected to be deployed to Gaza as Israeli troops withdraw after two years of fighting against Hamas.</p> <p>However, Israel has rejected any role for Türkiye in the mission. Netanyahu, facing resistance from hardliners within his coalition, maintained a firm stance: “We made clear with respect to international forces that Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us.”</p> <h3><strong>Egypt Sends Recovery Teams into Gaza</strong></h3> <p>AFP reported that an Egyptian convoy carrying rescuers, bulldozers, and heavy machinery entered Gaza to assist in locating the remains of Israeli hostages still believed to be buried under the rubble.</p> <p>Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian confirmed that Netanyahu had personally authorised the team’s entry. “Now, this is a technical team only, and none of these personnel are in the military,” Bedrosian said, adding that they were allowed beyond the Israel Defence Forces’ (IDF) “Yellow Line” to aid in the search.</p> <p>Bedrosian reiterated that “the prime minister has said it’s going to be done the easy way or the hard way, and Israel will have overall security control of the Gaza Strip.” She added, “Gaza will be demilitarised and Hamas will have no part in governing the Palestinian people.”</p> <h3><strong>Humanitarian Struggles Continue Amid Fragile Truce</strong></h3> <p>AFP's report stated that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain in makeshift tents amid the ruins of Gaza, more than two weeks after the ceasefire began. Many families continue to face famine-like conditions due to restricted humanitarian access.</p> <p>According to the report, a 62-year-old grandmother, Hiam Muqdad, who lives with her family in a tent beside her destroyed home, said, “When they said there was a truce, oh my God, a tear of joy and a tear of sadness fell from my eye.” “The child’s dream is gone. In the past, they used to go to the park, but today children play on the rubble.”</p> <p>Though Israel has repositioned its forces behind the “Yellow Line,” it continues to control over half the territory, oversee all UN aid convoys crossing its borders, and has conducted at least two strikes since the truce began. Netanyahu underscored Israel’s freedom of action, revealing that the military had dropped 150 tonnes of munitions on Gaza on October 19 following the deaths of two soldiers.</p> <h3><strong>‘Excluding Hamas From Gaza Could Lead To Choas, Security Vacuum’</strong></h3> <p>As part of the ceasefire deal, Hamas has pledged to return all hostages taken during its October 7, 2023 attack. Thirteen bodies, however, remain in Gaza, including those of 10 Israelis, one Israeli missing since 2014, a Thai worker, and a Tanzanian worker.</p> <p>Mousa Abu Marzouk, head of Hamas’s international relations and legal affairs, cautioned on Saturday: “Excluding Hamas from maintaining stability in the Gaza Strip could lead to chaos and a security vacuum.”</p> <p>Hamas insists it has already returned 20 living hostages and 15 bodies but claims it is struggling to locate the remaining remains amid the devastation, where more than 68,500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, according to figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which the UN deems credible.</p> <p>Dismissing the explanation, Israeli spox Bedrosian told reporters: “Hamas knows where our hostages are, and we know they are aware of their locations… If Hamas made more of an effort, they would be able to retrieve the remains of our hostages.”</p>
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