Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli artillery vehicles heavily shelled areas east of Rafah city and saw plumes of smoke rising from the targeted sites.
Witnesses also reported that Israeli helicopters fired heavily on areas east of Khan Younis.
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip have not reported any deaths or injuries as a result of the Israeli bombing as of (5:30 GMT).
Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation army claimed that it killed more than 40 militants during raids and bombings targeting tunnels in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, in recent days, and confirmed that it is continuing to search for the body of one of the Israeli prisoners inside the yellow line in the northern part of the Strip.
The Israeli army claimed that it killed four fighters who emerged from tunnels in Rafah, noting that its forces had worked for 40 days to destroy what remained of the underground hideouts east of the city.
Israeli Channel 14 quoted security sources as saying that the army believes that the militants inside the Rafah tunnels have been completely eliminated, and that the "yellow zone" has become the new border, while confirming that Israeli control over it continues.
The army also claimed to have found the bodies of nine Palestinian fighters during operations to dismantle the tunnel network, while Hamas estimates that between 80 and 100 of its fighters are trapped inside.
On the ground, Palestinian civil defense teams resumed their search for the bodies of martyrs in the Maghazi camp in central Gaza, despite limited resources, while Israeli raids continued on Khan Younis, Rafah and the eastern part of the Strip, causing widespread destruction of buildings and explosions.
"The mission of the international forces is limited to monitoring the truce."
In a related context, Hossam Badran, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, said that any international force that might be deployed in the Gaza Strip should have its mission limited to monitoring the ceasefire and separating Palestinian civilians from the occupation forces, stressing that turning it into an alternative to the occupation army or a tool against the Palestinians is “not feasible and will complicate the situation.”
Badran explained in an interview with Al Jazeera Mubasher that the Palestinian factions, including the Fatah movement, presented a unified position in Cairo regarding international forces, stressing that the Palestinian position aims to protect civilians and stop the aggression, and not to grant any legitimacy to a new foreign military presence.
He added that the agreement was reached after "the world grew tired of the occupation's practices," including the US administration that supported it, noting that stopping the daily genocide in Gaza was a primary goal for Hamas despite the continued violations.
Badran stressed that the resistance followed a "realistic political approach" supported by national consensus and an Arab and Islamic base, emphasizing that the Palestinians are the rightful owners of the land, and that the international community should direct its positions towards the occupation, not towards the victim.
Since the start of the war in October 2023, the death toll has risen to 70,103 martyrs and 170,985 wounded, while the ceasefire since October 2025 has recorded 356 martyrs, 908 injuries and the recovery of 607 bodies.
