Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered strikes in Gaza after Hamas reportedly violated the ceasefire by firing at IDF soldiers in Rafah.

Since an Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal came into effect, the U.S. effort to sustain it appears to have constrained Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The order from Netanyahu follows heightened tensions after Hamas returned a set of remains that Israel said belonged to a hostage recovered earlier in the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the military to immediately carry out "powerful" strikes on Gaza, after a row over the bodies of dead hostages. Hamas agreed to return the remains of all Israeli hostages who died in Gaza,

Israel has strengthened its security with a series of sweeping military victories in the past two years. It has also become far more isolated internationally, with no clear path ahead.

Hamas has said the return of the remaining bodies "may take some time" due to the destruction wrought in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday instructed the country's military to "carry out powerful strikes in Gaza," a statement from his office said, in response to alleged ceasefire violations by Hamas.

Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet has called for harsh measures in response, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urging the re-arrest of Palestinians released in exchanges “in response to Hamas’s repeated and ongoing violations”. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the correct response was to “destroy [Hamas] completely”.

Israel has received the coffin of a missing hostage handed over to the Red Cross from Hamas. That's according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office Friday.