Israel launches airstrike in southern Gaza after earlier attack by militants wounded 5 soldiers

Islamic Jihad and Hamas militants carry a white body bag that is believed to be the remains of a deceased hostage, in the town of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi).

JERUSALEM -- Israel said it launched an airstrike on a Hamas militant in southern Gaza late Wednesday in retaliation for an attack earlier in the day that wounded five Israeli soldiers.

The strike was the latest test for a fragile ceasefire that has mostly held up since early October, despite claims of violations by both Israel and Hamas. Hamas put out a statement condemning the Israeli strike in Khan Younis.

Earlier Wednesday, Israel received remains of what could be one of the last hostages in Gaza and said it would begin allowing Palestinians to leave the war-torn territory through a border crossing with Egypt.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas violated the ceasefire Wednesday when, according to the army, militants emerged from an underground tunnel and attacked Israeli soldiers in an area under their control.

Israel has accused Hamas of ceasefire violations before launching previous waves of airstrikes. Strikes killed 104 people in late October and 33 people in late November, according to local health officials.

The remains found Wednesday by militants in northern Gaza were returned to Israel, where they were being examined by forensics experts. Remains militants handed over on Tuesday did not match either of the last two hostages in Gaza.

The return of all the hostages taken on the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the war is a key element of the first phase of the ceasefire that began in October. In exchange, Israel has been releasing Palestinian prisoners.

Last hostages in Gaza are an Israeli and Thai national

Once the last hostages’ remains are returned and Israel releases more Palestinian prisoners in exchange, the U.S.-backed ceasefire plan is supposed to advance to the next phases, which call for creating an international stabilization force, forming a technocratic Palestinian government and disarming Hamas.

Earlier on Wednesday, Netanyahu said forensic testing showed that partial remains returned by militants on Tuesday did not match either of the hostages still in Gaza. Palestinian militants later said they had found more remains in northern Gaza and turned them over to the Red Cross, which is acting as an intermediary.

The two remaining bodies of hostages taken into Gaza are Israeli Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak. Gvili was an Israeli police officer who helped people escape from the Nova music festival during the Oct. 7 attack and was killed fighting at another location. Sudthisak Rinthalak was an agricultural worker from Thailand who had been employed at Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the hardest-hit communities in the attack.

A total of 31 workers from Thailand were abducted, the largest group of foreigners to be held in captivity. Most of them were released in the first and second ceasefires. The Thai Foreign Ministry has said in addition to the hostages, 46 Thais have been killed during the war.

Opening of Rafah crossing complicated by dispute

Under the terms of the ceasefire, the long-closed Rafah crossing is to be opened for medical evacuations and travel to and from Gaza. The World Health Organization says there are more than 16,500 sick and wounded people who need to leave Gaza for medical care.

It was not immediately clear when the border crossing would be opened, however.

Egypt wants Palestinians to be able to return to Gaza through the crossing and says it would only be opened if movement is allowed both ways. Israel says Palestinians will not be able to return to Gaza through the crossing until the last hostages’ remains are returned from Gaza.

The Israeli military body charged with facilitating aid to Gaza, COGAT, said Israel would coordinate with Egypt on the exit of Palestinians, under the supervision of a mission from the European Union. Those wishing to leave Gaza will require “Israeli security approval,” COGAT said.

Palestinians who want to leave Gaza will be able to move through Rafah if Egypt agrees to receive them, Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said. But the crossing won’t be open for Palestinians seeking to return to Gaza until all of the hostages in the territory are returned to Israel, she said.

Citing an unnamed Egyptian official, Egypt’s State Information Service said, if an agreement is reached, the crossing will be opened for travel in both directions in accordance with the ceasefire plan advanced by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Egypt fears that Palestinians allowed to leave Gaza might not be able to return.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has warned that Israel might prompt an exodus from Gaza as a way to permanently expel people and “eliminate the Palestinian cause” for statehood. More than 100,000 Palestinians that left Gaza after the war started, including those wounded in the conflict, have been living in Egypt, according to Egyptian authorities.

The Rafah crossing was sealed off in May 2024 when Israel’s military invaded the area. It was briefly opened in February this year as part of a previous ceasefire for the evacuation of sick and wounded Palestinians.

Fighting in Gaza leads to 1 Palestinian death, several injured Israelis

In Gaza City, a Palestinian man was killed by Israeli fire, a hospital said, marking the latest reported Palestinian fatality in the territory.

Israeli forces shot the 46-year-old man in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, according to the Al-Ahli hospital, which received the body. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The hospital said the man was shot while in the “safe zone,” which, under the terms of the ceasefire, is not controlled by the Israeli military. The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 360 Palestinians have been killed across Gaza since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 11.

Return of Palestinian bodies in flux

Twenty living hostages and the remains of 26 others have been returned to Israel since the ceasefire began.

Israel has been releasing 15 Palestinian bodies for the remains of each hostage as part of the ceasefire agreement. The Gaza Health Ministry said the total number of remains received so far is 330. Health officials in Gaza have said they have only been able to identify a fraction of the bodies handed over by Israel, and the process is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits.

The ceasefire aims to wind down the war that was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.

The Gaza Health ministry says the total Palestinian death toll from the war is over 70,100. The ministry does not distinguish between militants and civilians, though it says roughly half of those killed have been women and children. The ministry operates under the Hamas-run government. It is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.

Julia Frankel and Samy Magdy, The Associated Press

Magdy reported from Cairo. Abby Sewell contributed from Beirut.