Israeli forces carried out massive airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, dropping 153 tons (337,307 pounds) of bombs in retaliation for what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed was a cease-fire violation by the Palestinian group Hamas.
"One of our hands holds a weapon, the other hand is stretched out for peace," Netanyahu told lawmakers in the Knesset on Monday. "You make peace with the strong, not the weak. Today Israel is stronger than ever before."
Israel said the strikes came after two of its soldiers were killed in an attack on Sunday that it blamed on Hamas. The Palestinian group, however, denied any involvement in the incident.
Israel's military said in a statement that the strikes targeted Palestinian resistance members in the Rafah area who had allegedly opened fire on its soldiers. It said the attacks destroyed tunnels and military buildings.
Netanyahu said Israel would retaliate forcefully to Hamas attacks on its soldiers.
Senior Hamas member Izzat al-Risheq denied the Israeli claim, stressing his group's commitment to the cease-fire agreement, which he accused Israel of violating by "fabricating flimsy pretexts to justify its crimes."
Hamas' military wing, meanwhile, said that it remained committed to the cease-fire agreement in all of Gaza, adding that it was unaware of clashes in Rafah and that it has not been in contact with groups there since March.
"We affirm our full commitment to implementing all agreements, foremost among them the cease-fire across all areas of the Gaza Strip," the Al-Qassam Brigades said.
Palestinian witnesses on Sunday separately told Reuters of explosions and gunfire in Rafah, tank fire in the southern town of Abassan near Khan Younis, an airstrike in the central town of Zawayda and explosions in the central town of Deir al-Balah, which killed at least five people, according to medics at Al-Aqsa Hospital.
Israel and Hamas have been engaged in a dispute over the return of the bodies of deceased hostages. Israel demanded that Hamas fulfill its obligations in turning over the remaining bodies of all 28 hostages.
Hamas has returned all 20 living hostages and 12 of the deceased, but said the process needs effort and special equipment to recover corpses buried under rubble.
