The Israeli army said in a statement: "On Wednesday, an explosive device targeted an armored vehicle during a military operation to clear the Rafah area," according to its expressions, and added: "As a result, a field officer was lightly wounded and taken to the hospital for treatment."
In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office vowed to "respond" to what it called "Hamas's violation of the ceasefire," and claimed that Hamas "continues to violate the ceasefire and President (Donald) Trump's twenty-point plan."
He continued, claiming: "Hamas's public and ongoing refusal to disarm is a blatant and continuous violation, and its violent intentions and violations were confirmed today by its detonation of an explosive device that resulted in the injury of an Israeli army officer." He added: "Hamas must be held accountable for the agreement it signed, which includes its removal from power, its disarmament, and the fight against its extremism, and Israel will respond accordingly."
"Justifications for escalation"
For its part, Hamas denied responsibility for the explosion and called for Tel Aviv to be obligated to implement the signed agreements and not to fabricate justifications for continuing the escalation.
Hamas said in a statement: “The explosion that occurred in the Rafah area took place in an area that is completely controlled by the Zionist occupation forces, and no Palestinians work there.” It added: “We had previously warned of the presence of war remnants in this area and others, and we have not been responsible for them since the implementation of the agreement began, especially the remnants planted by the occupation itself in the area.”
The movement called for "obligating the occupation to implement the agreements it signed, and not to fabricate justifications to continue the escalation and attempts to sabotage the agreement," and affirmed "its commitment to the agreement and the obligations arising from it."
It is worth noting that on September 29, US President Donald Trump announced a 20-point plan for peace and an end to the war in Gaza, including: the release of Israeli prisoners, a ceasefire, the disarmament of Hamas, Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the formation of a technocratic government, and the deployment of an international stabilization force.
On October 10, the first phase of the ceasefire agreement came into effect, while Israel violated some of its terms and delayed moving to the second phase, citing the continued captivity of one of its soldiers in Gaza, even though Palestinian factions continue to search for him amidst the massive destruction left by the Israeli genocide.
The agreement was supposed to end a genocide perpetrated by Tel Aviv over two years starting on October 7, 2023, which resulted in about 71,000 martyrs and more than 171,000 wounded Palestinians, most of them children and women, but Israel continues to this day its violations and its suffocating siege on the sector.
