AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Israel's military launched a series of airstrikes in Gaza today, killing at least nine people and injuring several more, according to emergency response teams. This comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of violating the U.S.-brokered ceasefire. NPR's Rob Schmitz is in Tel Aviv and joins us now. Hi, Rob.
ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.
CHANG: OK, let's start with the Israeli strikes that have been going on this evening in Gaza. What's the latest now?
SCHMITZ: Yeah, there are reports of several Israeli airstrikes throughout Gaza tonight. A spokesman for Gaza's Civil Defense, Mahmoud Basal, says many of the strikes have targeted civilian neighborhoods.
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MAHMOUD BASAL: (Non-English language spoken).
SCHMITZ: And Basal's saying here that one strike hit a residential building in Gaza City, leaving many floors leveled. So far, he says at least four people have been confirmed killed, several others injured in that strike, with more victims likely buried under the rubble. Other strikes hit near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. In southern Gaza, in the city of Khan Younis, another Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle, killing at least five people, according to Gaza's Civil Defense. This death toll will likely change as rescue crews in Gaza try to locate bodies under the rubble of buildings that were hit.
CHANG: All right. Well, Netanyahu said that these strikes were in retaliation for Hamas violating the ceasefire. How did Hamas break the ceasefire, at least according to Netanyahu?
SCHMITZ: Yeah, you know, before I get into this, I think it's important to mention here that both sides have accused the other of breaking the ceasefire several times in the past couple of weeks since it was signed. You know, this time around, though, Israel said that earlier today, Hamas opened fire and shot a rocket-propelled grenade at Israeli troops who were conducting engineering operations near Rafah in southern Gaza, in Israeli-held territory. Hamas denies taking part of that attack.
Now, Israel said the other violation of the ceasefire happened last night when Hamas handed over body parts that Israel said were the partial remains of a hostage who was recovered earlier in the war. Netanyahu called the return of these body parts a clear violation of that ceasefire agreement. And that agreement requires Hamas to return the remaining deceased hostages in Gaza as soon as possible. Hamas responded today by saying that Israel is seeking to fabricate false pretexts to attack Gaza.
CHANG: Wait, how many bodies of hostages are still left in Gaza as of now? And why exactly is it taking so long to get them out?
SCHMITZ: So there are still 13 bodies of hostages remaining in Gaza, and as to why it's taking so long, it depends on who you talk to. You know, Hamas says it's struggling to locate the bodies because two years of Israeli airstrikes have reduced much of Gaza to rubble, making it difficult to recover them. Israel's government accuses Hamas of lying about this, saying Hamas knows where several of them are located and is purposely delaying their return. This past weekend, Egypt sent a search and rescue team and heavy equipment to help search for the bodies. And Hamas said today it had recovered another body of a hostage, but after Israel announced the plans to strike Gaza, Hamas said in a statement it would delay the handover.
CHANG: OK. So what has the White House said about today's strikes?
SCHMITZ: So Vice President JD Vance downplayed the events today, saying that it appeared to be a skirmish and said it does not threaten the ceasefire. Throughout the past two weeks, though, as I've mentioned, both sides have blamed each other for violating the ceasefire, yet each maintains their commitments to that ceasefire. And each time that something like this happens, the media has been fond of saying, well, the latest episode threatens the ceasefire. And, you know, the meaning of a ceasefire is to stop shooting at each other. And as we've seen today, that is simply not happening. What's clear is that this ceasefire was from the start a fragile one, and it is getting more so by the day.
CHANG: That is NPR's Rob Schmitz in Tel Aviv. Thank you so much, Rob.
SCHMITZ: Thanks, Ailsa. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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