Middle East crisis live: Israel launches strikes on Gaza; Hamas denies responsibility for attack on IDF

7.39pm GMT JD Vance says ceasefire is holding despite 'skirmishes here and there' US president JD Vance said that Gaza’s ceasefire is holding, Reuters reports. “The ceasefire is holding. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t going to be little skirmishes here and there,” he said. “We know that Hamas or somebody else within Gaza attacked an (Israeli military) soldier. We expect the Israelis are going to respond, but I think the President’s peace is going to hold despite that,” Vance continued. Updated at 7.54pm GMT 7.18pm GMT Hamas denies reponsibility for IDF attack in Rafah Hamas has denied responsibility over the attack on Israeli soldiers in Rafah on Tuesday. The group says it remains committed to the ceasefire deal, adding that it had no connection to the attack which prompted swift Israeli strikes across Gaza, Reuters reports. 7.09pm GMT Benjamin Netanyahu earlier on Tuesday had accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire terms with the return of remains which did not belong to hostages.In addition to that, the Israeli military accused Hamas of an attack on IDF soldiers in southern Gaza on Tuesday, which they said was another violation of the truce. Hamas has said it is respecting the terms of the ceasefire. It has accused Israel of making up excuses to take further aggressive action in Gaza. Israel has carried out other strikes since the deal came into play, including one on Saturday, which it said was a “targeted” hit on a person in central Gaza who had been planning an attack on its troops. 6.54pm GMT Here is the quote from the Gaza civil defence agency confirming at least three strikes over Gaza:“The occupation is now bombing Gaza with at least three air strikes despite the ceasefire agreement,” Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the agency told AFP news agency. 6.42pm GMT At least two people killed and four injured in strike At least two people have been killed and another four injured in one of the strikes, says Gaza’s civil defense agency. The strike targeted a neighbourhood south of Gaza City. Updated at 7.09pm GMT 6.21pm GMT Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued the statement announcing the strikes just over two hours ago. The ceasefire deal has only been in place for three weeks - since 10 October. Both Hamas and Israel have accused each other of violations since then. Updated at 6.51pm GMT 6.01pm GMT Israel has launched at least three air strikes, says the Gaza civil defence. Israeli media has described it as a “wave” of strikes. There is yet to be any comment from the IDF. Updated at 6.53pm GMT 5.58pm GMT The strikes have targeted an area near Shifa, the largest still-operating hospital in northern Gaza, according to reports emerging from the territory. Gaza City is in the north of the strip. Updated at 6.53pm GMT 5.47pm GMT Israel has launched strikes on Gaza City, witnesses report Israeli planes have launched strikes on Gaza City, Reuters news agency reports, citing witnesses. Updated at 6.52pm GMT 5.24pm GMT Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, ordered the military to immediately carry out “powerful strikes” in Gaza, in the latest test for the increasingly shaky US-brokered ceasefire in the strip. Netanyahu ordered the strikes after an emergency meeting to discuss what he called Hamas violations of the ceasefire, amid clamour for a return to the war by far-right figures in the Israeli government. Hours earlier, on Tuesday afternoon, Palestinian militants fired at Israeli soldiers in southern Gaza, prompting strikes from the Israeli military. Israeli media said Hamas militants attacked Israeli troops in southern Gaza with an anti-tank missile and guns and Israel retaliated by striking infrastructure associated with the militant group. Earlier on Tuesday, Netanyahu accused Hamas of a “clear violation” of the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire, saying the militant group had returned body parts of a hostage whose remains Israeli troops had recovered two years before. Read the rest here: Related: Netanyahu orders immediate ‘powerful strikes’ on Gaza in latest test of ceasefire Updated at 6.51pm GMT 5.00pm GMT Hamas's armed wing says it is postponing handover of hostage's body scheduled for Tuesday evening after Israeli 'violations' of ceasefire Hamas’s armed wing said it was postponing the handover of another hostage body scheduled for Tuesday evening after what it called Israeli “violations” of the US-brokered ceasefire. Hamas’s announcement came minutes after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to carry out intense strikes on the Gaza Strip, accusing the militants of violating the truce deal. “We will postpone the handover that was scheduled for today due to the occupation’s violations,” the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement, adding that any Israeli “escalation will hinder the search, excavation, and recovery of the bodies”. Updated at 6.51pm GMT 4.52pm GMT Benjamin Netanyahu orders Israeli military to carry out 'powerful strikes' in Gaza Strip Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday ordered the military to carry out intense strikes on the Gaza Strip, after accusing Hamas of violating the US-brokered ceasefire. “Following security consultations, prime minister Netanyahu instructed the military to immediately carry out powerful strikes in the Gaza Strip,” a statement from his office said. Updated at 6.51pm GMT