The Israeli military has launched an attack on Gaza, as Israel continued to trade blame with Palestinian group Hamas over violations of the US-brokered ceasefire aiming to end the war in the enclave, Israeli media, witnesses reported yesterday.

Israeli public broadcaster Kan said the air force was attacking Rafah in the south of Gaza. Most media outlets described the attack as air strikes. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the country's security forces to take "strong action" against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, accusing Hamas of breaching the ceasefire.

Gaza's civil defence agency said the series of air strikes killed at least 11 people across the territory. The Israeli government and Hamas have been accusing each other of violations of the ceasefire for days, with Israel saying the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, reports Reuters.

The Israeli army has committed 47 violations of the ceasefire agreement since it came into force in early October, killing 38 people and wounding 143, Palestinian officials said.

An Israeli military official told AFP yesterday that Hamas launched multiple attacks against Israeli forces in Gaza, resulting in a breach of the ceasefire in the territory.

Senior Hamas official Izzat Al Risheq said that the Palestinian group remained committed to the ceasefire, which he accused Israel of repeatedly violating.

Meanwhile, Israel confirmed that the second of two bodies returned overnight by Hamas was that of a Thai farmworker killed during the October 7, 2023 attack whose body was taken to Gaza.

The prime minister's office said the military had informed the family of the deceased hostage, Sonthaya Oakkharasri, that their loved one had been returned to Israel and formally identified.

Hamas's armed wing said it had recovered the body of an Israeli hostage and would hand it over later yesterday "if field conditions allow".

An Israeli military official said yesterday that Hamas had carried out multiple attacks against Israeli forces inside Gaza, including a rocket-propelled grenade attack and a sniper attack against Israeli soldiers.

"Both of the incidents happened in an Israeli-controlled area...This is a bold violation of the ceasefire," the official said.

Formidable obstacles to Trump's plan to end the war still remain. Key questions of Hamas disarming, the governance of Gaza, the make-up of an international "stabilization force", and moves towards the creation of a Palestinian state have yet to be resolved.

When asked for comment, the US Embassy in Jerusalem referred inquiries to the State Department.