Hamas denies attacking Israeli troops in Gaza

GAZA: The Palestinian group Hamas rejected accusations that its fighters attacked Israeli troops in Gaza on Tuesday, vowing to abide by the US-brokered ceasefire with Israel.

“Hamas affirms that it has no connection to the shooting incident in Rafah and affirms its commitment to the ceasefire agreement,” the group said in a statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz accused Hamas of attacking Israeli forces in Gaza but did not specify the location of the incident.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he had ordered the military to “carry out powerful attacks” in Gaza after accusing Hamas of violating a ceasefire agreement in the Palestinian territory.

A statement by Netanyahu’s office did not specify the reason for the planned attacks. However, an Israeli military official alleged that Hamas violated the ceasefire by carrying out an attack against Israeli forces in an area under Israeli control.

Netanyahu earlier accused Hamas of violating the agreement by turning over the wrong remains in a process of returning the bodies of hostages to Israel.

Hamas initially said in response to this that it would hand over to Israel on Tuesday the body of a missing hostage found in a tunnel in Gaza. However, Hamas’s armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, said later it would postpone the planned handover, citing what it said were Israel’s violations of the ceasefire.

Israeli media earlier reported an exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the reports.

Hamas said it was complying with the ceasefire terms and Netanyahu was looking for excuses to back away from Israel’s obligations.

A U.S.-backed ceasefire is in force between Israel and Hamas, but each side has accused the other of violations.

Under the ceasefire terms, Hamas released all living hostages in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian convicts and war-time detainees, while Israel pulled back its troops and halted its offensive.

Hamas has also agreed to hand over the remains of all dead hostages yet to be recovered, but has said that it will take time to locate and retrieve the bodies in the enclave, which has been devastated by two years of war. Israel says Hamas can access the remains of most of the hostages.