Jerusalem: Ten days into a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, relief is giving way to grim acknowledgments of the truce’s tenuousness, and of the need for continued outside intervention to keep it alive, let alone to make further progress.

A new round of violence on Sunday showed just how arduous the road to a broader agreement in the Gaza Strip will be between the two sides, which have repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce.

Palestinians collect leaflets dropped by an Israeli drone warning people to stay away from the so-called yellow line – which is currently unmarked – in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.Credit: AP

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and another was wounded when Palestinian militants launched an anti-tank missile at an army vehicle, the Israeli military said. The attack took place in Rafah, in southern Gaza, on the Israeli-held eastern side of the ceasefire line. Israel called it a blatant violation of the agreement’s terms. Hamas officials were quick to disavow the attack.

‘Things are very unclear, very fragile and sensitive. I’m afraid that it will lead us during the coming weeks to a kind of attrition – almost everyday violations, clashes and crises.’

Israel responded quickly, with a punishing bombardment of what it described as Hamas installations, and Gaza officials said that 44 Palestinians were killed across the territory on Sunday.

Israel said it was cutting off the supply of humanitarian aid to the devastated territory indefinitely, but later tempered that, saying that aid deliveries would be paused only until the bombardment was over. By Monday afternoon, the flow of aid was back to normal, relief agencies said.

Israel soldiers mourn for........

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