Israeli air strikes hit south Gaza as two soldiers are killed
Gaza Civil Defence says 33 Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombing
Israel carried out strikes across Gaza on Sunday after it said two of its soldiers were killed by Hamas.
The Israeli military said it struck dozens of Hamas targets, accusing the militants of violating a ceasefire.
"Over the past few hours, in response to the blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement earlier today, the IDF struck dozens of Hamas terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip," the military said, adding that the targets included Hamas weapons stores.
Gaza Civil Defence said later 33 Palestinians were killed.
A woman and two children were killed when a drone strike hit a tent housing displaced people near Asdaa City, north of Khan Yunis.
Two people, including a journalist, were killed and several others injured in an Israeli strike in the western part of Zuwaida town in central Gaza.
In another attack, two people were killed and several injured when an Israeli strike hit a tent in the Al-Ahli Club area in Nuseirat, central Gaza, Bassal said.
Two more people were killed in an Israeli air strike in eastern Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, he added.
An Israeli official said Hamas fighters had attacked Israeli forces with sniper fire and a rocket-propelled grenade in a breach of the week-old ceasefire agreement.
"The incidents happened in an Israeli-controlled area, east of the Yellow Line. This is a bold violation of the ceasefire," he told AFP.
Israel identifies latest returned body as former Thai hostage
Meanwhile, Israel on Sunday confirmed that the second of two bodies returned overnight by Hamas was that of a Thai farmworker killed during the October 7, 2023 attack whose body was taken to Gaza.
The prime minister's office said the military had informed the family of the deceased hostage, Sonthaya Oakkharasri, that their loved one had been returned to Israel and formally identified.
Eaerlier Israel announced the identity of the first hostage as 54-year-old Ronen Engel.
The military "informed the family of hostage Ronen Engel... that their loved one has been returned to Israel and his identification has been completed", Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
Israel would spare no effort "until all the fallen hostages are repatriated", it added.
Engel, a resident of Nir Oz kibbutz, was abducted from his home and killed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and his body taken to Gaza. The Israeli army announced his death on December 1, 2023.