The Israeli military announced on Sunday that a ceasefire in Gaza had resumed following an attack that killed two of its soldiers and triggered airstrikes that Palestinians said left 26 people dead, marking the most serious test of this month’s truce.

US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire he brokered remained in place and suggested Hamas leadership may not have been involved in the violations. “We think maybe the leadership isn’t involved in that,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.

“Either way … it’s going to be handled toughly but properly,” Trump added. He also said he did not know whether the Israeli strikes were justified. “I’d have to get back to you on that,” he said.

Aid to Gaza is set to resume on Monday following US pressure, an Israeli security source said, after Israel had temporarily halted supplies in response to what it described as a “blatant” truce violation by Hamas.

The airstrikes killed at least 26 people, including a woman and a child, according to local residents and health authorities. At least one strike hit a former school sheltering displaced residents in Nuseirat.

“We’re going to have to see what’s happening. We want to make sure that it’s going to be very peaceful with Hamas,” Trump said.

US envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to travel to Israel on Monday, Israeli and US officials said.

The armed wing of Hamas stated it remains committed to the ceasefire, was unaware of clashes in Rafah, and had not communicated with groups there since March.

US Vice President JD Vance did not address the Israeli strikes directly, but noted that around 40 Hamas cells remain active, with no security infrastructure yet to ensure complete disarmament.

“Some of those cells will probably honor the ceasefire. Many, as we saw today, will not,” he said. Vance added that Gulf Arab states may need to deploy forces to maintain law, order, and security on the ground before Hamas can be fully disarmed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to respond forcefully to what he called Hamas’ violations of the ceasefire.

PATH TO PEACE IS UNCERTAIN

Fearing the truce may collapse, some Palestinians rushed to buy goods from a main market in Nuseirat and families fled their homes in Khan Younis further south, after airstrikes hit nearby.

The strikes were reminiscent of Israel’s response to what it viewed as serious violations of its ceasefire with Hamas’ Lebanese ally Hezbollah in late 2024, less than a week after it came into effect and after days of mutual accusations of truce breaches, though that ceasefire has since largely held.

But formidable obstacles remain in the way of a durable peace in Gaza, where a ceasefire collapsed in March after nearly two months of relative calm when Israel unleashed a barrage of airstrikes.

DISPUTE OVER BODIES OF DECEASED HOSTAGES

The new ceasefire took effect on October 10, halting two years of war, but the Israeli government and Hamas have been accusing each other of violations of the ceasefire for days.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the “yellow line” to where Israeli forces had pulled back under the ceasefire deal would be physically marked and that any violation of the ceasefire or attempt to cross the line would be met with fire.

Hamas detailed what it said was a series of violations by Israel that it says have left 46 people dead and stopped essential supplies from reaching the enclave.

On Saturday, Israel said the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which had been expected to be reopened this week, would remain closed and that its reopening would depend on Hamas fulfilling its obligations under the ceasefire.

Israel says Hamas is being too slow in handing over bodies of deceased hostages.

Hamas last week released all 20 living hostages it had been holding and in the following days has handed over 12 of the 28 deceased captives.

MORE AID IS NEEDED

Hamas says it has no interest in keeping the bodies of remaining hostages and that special equipment is needed to recover corpses buried under rubble.

The Rafah crossing has largely been shut since May 2024. The ceasefire deal also includes the ramping up of aid to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people were determined in August to be affected by famine, according to the IPC global hunger monitor.

The crossing has in previous ceasefires functioned as a key conduit for humanitarian aid to flow into the enclave.

Although the flow of aid through another crossing had, until Sunday’s decision to halt aid, increased significantly since the ceasefire began, the United Nations says far more is needed.

Key questions of Hamas disarming, future governance of Gaza, the make-up of an international “stabilization force”, and moves towards creation of a Palestinian state have yet to be resolved.

HONG KONG: Two Hong Kong airport security staff were killed early on Monday after a cargo plane from Dubai skidded off the runway on landing, collided with their security patrol vehicle and pushed it into the sea, the city’s airport operator said.

The Boeing 747 involved in the deadliest airport incident in the financial hub in more than 25 years also fell into the water and was partially submerged, but all four crew members on board escaped.

The airport security staff were not breathing when rescued from the water, with one confirmed dead at the scene and another later at hospital, said Steven Yiu, executive director of airport operations at Airport Authority Hong Kong.

The accident at the world’s busiest cargo airport involved a plane operated by Turkish freight carrier ACT Airlines on behalf of Emirates, the Dubai-based airline said in a statement.

Authorities are still investigating the exact cause of the crash, with weather, runway conditions, the aircraft and aircrew part of the investigation, Yiu said.

The accident occurred around 3:50 am Hong Kong time on Monday (1950 GMT on Sunday).

An air traffic control recording available on LiveATC.net reviewed by Reuters indicated the cargo plane’s pilot confirmed plans to land on runway 07L where the crash occurred, but he did not report any technical issues on the recording.

“An incident happened at the airfield just now,” a female controller said minutes later.

Man Ka-chai, chief accident and safety investigator for Hong Kong’s Air Accident Investigation Authority, confirmed air traffic control had directed the flight to land at the north runway, but added: “We didn’t receive any message requesting help from the pilot.”

Yiu said the security patrol car was in charge of patrolling the north runway along a road that was outside the runway fence. It was operating in its usual area and “definitely didn’t rush onto the runway,” he said.

The airplane suddenly veered left after landing on the runway before hitting the car, which “wasn’t a normal path”, he said.

Airport flights not affected

Flights at Hong Kong’s airport have not been affected, Yiu said, adding that the northern runway at the world’s busiest cargo airport, where the incident occurred, would reopen after safety inspections were complete.

The south and central runways are operating as normal, the authority said.

Photos taken after the accident showed a cargo aircraft with AirACT livery partially submerged in water near the airport’s sea wall with an escape slide deployed and the nose and tail sections separated.

Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department said in a statement on Monday that the aircraft had “deviated from the north runway after landing and ditched into the sea.”

Emirates said flight EK9788 sustained damage on landing in Hong Kong on Monday and was a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft wet-leased from and operated by ACT Airlines.

“Crew are confirmed to be safe and there was no cargo onboard,” Emirates said.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

ACT Airlines is a Turkish carrier that provides extra cargo capacity to major airlines. It did not respond immediately to a request for comment outside normal business hours.

Flight tracking service FlightRadar24 said the aircraft involved in the accident was 32 years old and had served as a passenger plane before being converted into a freighter.

Yiu said the airport authority would provide all necessary assistance and support to the family, adding the two staff who died had worked at the airport for seven and 12 years respectively.

It was the deadliest airport accident in Hong Kong since a China Airlines flight crashed on landing in 1999, killing three of the 315 people on board, according to an Aviation Safety Network database.

• PM Modi said he’s “not going to be doing Russian oil thing”: Trump.
• Russian oil one of main irritants for Trump in trade talks with India. 
• India’s imports of Russian oil set to rise about 20% this month.
  

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE: US President Donald Trump reiterated on Sunday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him India will stop buying Russian oil, while warning that New Delhi would continue paying “massive” tariffs if it did not do so.

“I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Asked about India’s assertion that it was not aware of any conversation between Modi and Trump, Trump replied: “But if they want to say that, then they’ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don’t want to do that.”

Russian oil has been one of the main irritants for Trump in prolonged trade talks with India — half of his 50% tariffs on Indian goods are in retaliation for those purchases. The US government has said that petroleum revenue funds Russia’s war in Ukraine.

India has become the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian oil sold at a discount after Western nations shunned purchases and imposed sanctions on Moscow for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Trump on Wednesday said Modi had assured him that day that India would stop its Russian oil purchases. India’s foreign ministry said it was not aware of any telephone conversation between the leaders that day, but said that New Delhi’s main concern was to “safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer”.

A White House official said on Thursday that India has halved its purchases of Russian oil, but Indian sources said no immediate reduction had been seen.

The sources said Indian refiners already placed orders for November loading, including some slated for December arrival, so any cut may start showing up in December or January import numbers.

India’s imports of Russian oil are set to rise about 20% this month to 1.9 million barrels per day, according to estimates from commodities data firm Kpler, as Russia ramps up exports after Ukrainian drones hit its refineries.