Middle East war continues! Israeli airstrikes rip ceasefire agreement, and crude oil prices face a "powder keg premium."
2025-10-29 10:28:41
Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday (October 28) after accusing the Palestinian militant group Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement. This is the latest test of the fragile agreement brokered earlier this month by US President Trump.
Local health authorities said the airstrikes have killed at least 26 people, including five in a house in the Breji refugee camp in central Gaza, four in a building in the Sabra district of Gaza City, and five more in a car in Khan Younis. Witnesses said the Israeli airstrikes continued until early Wednesday morning and affected the entire Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack, the latest in a series of violent incidents since the ceasefire agreement was reached. Earlier, Prime Minister Netanyahu's office issued a statement saying he had ordered an immediate "strong strike."
The statement did not specify the exact reason for the attack, but an Israeli military official said that Hamas launched an attack on Israeli forces in an Israeli-controlled enclave, violating the ceasefire agreement .
The official stated, "This is yet another blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement."
On October 10, a US-backed ceasefire agreement officially came into effect, ending two years of fighting triggered by Hamas' deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The prolonged conflict has led the market to accept the long-term tensions in the Middle East. Crude oil prices fluctuate depending on whether the escalation of the situation exceeds market expectations. The breakdown of the ceasefire agreement and the hardline statements from both sides represent a negative marginal change, thus requiring a repricing of risk .
U.S. Vice President Vance said during a visit to Israel last week with a delegation from the Trump administration that the ceasefire agreement remains in effect despite renewed tensions.
As a member of the delegation, Vance emphasized to the media in Jerusalem that "the current ceasefire situation is generally stable." Previously, the conflict between Israel and Hamas had seen recurring setbacks, leading to doubts about the prospects of a ceasefire.
He told reporters on Capitol Hill, "This doesn't mean there won't be sporadic clashes. We know that Hamas or other groups in the Gaza Strip attacked an Israeli soldier. We expect Israel to respond, but I think the peace that the president has facilitated will remain."
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli media reported clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment regarding these reports.
Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, denied responsibility for the attack on Israeli forces in the Rafah area. In a statement, the group emphasized its continued commitment to the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.
Tuesday's airstrikes on Gaza City were, according to the Israeli military, precision strikes against a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The operation, according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces, aimed to eliminate the group's imminent threat to Israeli civilians.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) maintains close ties with Iran. If the conflict becomes protracted or escalates, the risk of direct confrontation between Israel and Iran—a major OPEC oil producer and a key supporter of Hamas—will increase significantly. Any threat targeting Iranian oil facilities or shipping routes will immediately shake global markets .
An airstrike completely destroyed a residential building in the Gaza Strip, and Palestinian health authorities reported that the attack had killed at least 12 people, including women and children.
A Hamas spokesperson condemned the operation as a barbaric act of aggression and warned of a severe response .
UN Secretary-General Guterres called on both sides to immediately ceasefire through his spokesperson, stressing that the cycle of violence will only bring more suffering to civilians .
The Israeli military has deployed additional armored units to the Gaza border, and the escalating situation has raised concerns in the international community.
Violating the ceasefire agreement itself would trigger market concerns about stability in the Middle East, providing some floor support for oil prices and preventing them from falling sharply due to economic worries .
Netanyahu said earlier on Tuesday that Hamas had provided the wrong bodies during the return of Israeli hostages, a move that violated the ceasefire agreement .
Netanyahu stated that the body handed over on Monday belonged to Ophir Tsarfati, an Israeli who died in a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. The Israeli army had partially recovered Tsarfati's remains during the conflict.
Hamas initially responded that it would hand over the body of a missing hostage found in a Gaza tunnel to Israel on Tuesday. However, its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, later stated that it would postpone the planned handover due to Israel's violation of the ceasefire agreement.
Late Tuesday night, the Qassam Brigades issued a statement saying it had recovered the bodies of two Israeli hostages, Amiram Cooper and Sahar Barouch, during a search operation in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas claims that Netanyahu is looking for excuses to evade Israel's obligations.
Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas released all surviving hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees, while Israel withdrew its troops and halted its military offensive.
Hamas also agreed to hand over the remains of all the hostages who have not yet been recovered, but stated that locating and retrieving the bodies from the ruins of Gaza would take time. Israel claims the armed group has access to the remains of most of the hostages.
Trump said he is closely monitoring the situation, which has become one of the main sticking points of the current ceasefire agreement. The US president has touted the ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange agreement as his most important foreign policy achievement of his second term, and he and his senior staff are working hard to maintain the ceasefire.
The White House did not immediately respond to the question of whether Israel had notified the U.S. in advance before carrying out the Gaza strikes.
In Gaza City, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a residential building near Shifa Hospital, killing four people. Shifa Hospital, the largest operating medical facility in northern Gaza, was also attacked, a fact confirmed by Gaza officials, witnesses, and Hamas media.
According to a separate report from the local health department, an attack on a tent in the Zawaida region of central Gaza resulted in two injuries.
With the arrival of Egyptian heavy machinery, the search for the remains of hostages in the Gaza Strip has been in full swing for the past few days. On Tuesday, bulldozers were operating simultaneously in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip and Nusserait further north, while Hamas militants were deployed in the surrounding area.
It is believed that some of the remains may be hidden in Hamas' network of tunnels beneath Gaza.
Witnesses in Khan Younis said that an Egyptian team, in cooperation with Hamas militants, is conducting deep excavations near the Qatar-funded Hamad residential city on the west side of the city, and has discovered tunnel shafts.
The excavation site is located about 12 meters below the surface. Hamas militants are standing at the bottom of the tunnel entrance, apparently searching for bodies.
The Gaza health ministry said Israeli airstrikes have killed 68,000 people and left thousands missing. Prior to the war, Hamas-led militants raided southern Israel, killing 1,200 and taking 251 hostages to Gaza.
At 10:28 Beijing time, U.S. crude oil continued to trade at $60.11 per barrel.
Local health authorities said the airstrikes have killed at least 26 people, including five in a house in the Breji refugee camp in central Gaza, four in a building in the Sabra district of Gaza City, and five more in a car in Khan Younis. Witnesses said the Israeli airstrikes continued until early Wednesday morning and affected the entire Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack, the latest in a series of violent incidents since the ceasefire agreement was reached. Earlier, Prime Minister Netanyahu's office issued a statement saying he had ordered an immediate "strong strike."
The statement did not specify the exact reason for the attack, but an Israeli military official said that Hamas launched an attack on Israeli forces in an Israeli-controlled enclave, violating the ceasefire agreement .
The official stated, "This is yet another blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement."
On October 10, a US-backed ceasefire agreement officially came into effect, ending two years of fighting triggered by Hamas' deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The prolonged conflict has led the market to accept the long-term tensions in the Middle East. Crude oil prices fluctuate depending on whether the escalation of the situation exceeds market expectations. The breakdown of the ceasefire agreement and the hardline statements from both sides represent a negative marginal change, thus requiring a repricing of risk .
Both sides accused each other of violating the ceasefire agreement.
U.S. Vice President Vance said during a visit to Israel last week with a delegation from the Trump administration that the ceasefire agreement remains in effect despite renewed tensions.
As a member of the delegation, Vance emphasized to the media in Jerusalem that "the current ceasefire situation is generally stable." Previously, the conflict between Israel and Hamas had seen recurring setbacks, leading to doubts about the prospects of a ceasefire.
He told reporters on Capitol Hill, "This doesn't mean there won't be sporadic clashes. We know that Hamas or other groups in the Gaza Strip attacked an Israeli soldier. We expect Israel to respond, but I think the peace that the president has facilitated will remain."
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli media reported clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The Israeli military did not respond to requests for comment regarding these reports.
Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, denied responsibility for the attack on Israeli forces in the Rafah area. In a statement, the group emphasized its continued commitment to the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.
Tuesday's airstrikes on Gaza City were, according to the Israeli military, precision strikes against a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The operation, according to a statement from the Israel Defense Forces, aimed to eliminate the group's imminent threat to Israeli civilians.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) maintains close ties with Iran. If the conflict becomes protracted or escalates, the risk of direct confrontation between Israel and Iran—a major OPEC oil producer and a key supporter of Hamas—will increase significantly. Any threat targeting Iranian oil facilities or shipping routes will immediately shake global markets .
An airstrike completely destroyed a residential building in the Gaza Strip, and Palestinian health authorities reported that the attack had killed at least 12 people, including women and children.
A Hamas spokesperson condemned the operation as a barbaric act of aggression and warned of a severe response .
UN Secretary-General Guterres called on both sides to immediately ceasefire through his spokesperson, stressing that the cycle of violence will only bring more suffering to civilians .
The Israeli military has deployed additional armored units to the Gaza border, and the escalating situation has raised concerns in the international community.
Violating the ceasefire agreement itself would trigger market concerns about stability in the Middle East, providing some floor support for oil prices and preventing them from falling sharply due to economic worries .
Netanyahu accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement.
Netanyahu said earlier on Tuesday that Hamas had provided the wrong bodies during the return of Israeli hostages, a move that violated the ceasefire agreement .
Netanyahu stated that the body handed over on Monday belonged to Ophir Tsarfati, an Israeli who died in a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. The Israeli army had partially recovered Tsarfati's remains during the conflict.
Hamas initially responded that it would hand over the body of a missing hostage found in a Gaza tunnel to Israel on Tuesday. However, its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, later stated that it would postpone the planned handover due to Israel's violation of the ceasefire agreement.
Late Tuesday night, the Qassam Brigades issued a statement saying it had recovered the bodies of two Israeli hostages, Amiram Cooper and Sahar Barouch, during a search operation in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas claims that Netanyahu is looking for excuses to evade Israel's obligations.
Under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas released all surviving hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees, while Israel withdrew its troops and halted its military offensive.
Search for the remains of the hostages
Hamas also agreed to hand over the remains of all the hostages who have not yet been recovered, but stated that locating and retrieving the bodies from the ruins of Gaza would take time. Israel claims the armed group has access to the remains of most of the hostages.
Trump said he is closely monitoring the situation, which has become one of the main sticking points of the current ceasefire agreement. The US president has touted the ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange agreement as his most important foreign policy achievement of his second term, and he and his senior staff are working hard to maintain the ceasefire.
The White House did not immediately respond to the question of whether Israel had notified the U.S. in advance before carrying out the Gaza strikes.
In Gaza City, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a residential building near Shifa Hospital, killing four people. Shifa Hospital, the largest operating medical facility in northern Gaza, was also attacked, a fact confirmed by Gaza officials, witnesses, and Hamas media.
According to a separate report from the local health department, an attack on a tent in the Zawaida region of central Gaza resulted in two injuries.
With the arrival of Egyptian heavy machinery, the search for the remains of hostages in the Gaza Strip has been in full swing for the past few days. On Tuesday, bulldozers were operating simultaneously in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip and Nusserait further north, while Hamas militants were deployed in the surrounding area.
It is believed that some of the remains may be hidden in Hamas' network of tunnels beneath Gaza.
Witnesses in Khan Younis said that an Egyptian team, in cooperation with Hamas militants, is conducting deep excavations near the Qatar-funded Hamad residential city on the west side of the city, and has discovered tunnel shafts.
The excavation site is located about 12 meters below the surface. Hamas militants are standing at the bottom of the tunnel entrance, apparently searching for bodies.
The Gaza health ministry said Israeli airstrikes have killed 68,000 people and left thousands missing. Prior to the war, Hamas-led militants raided southern Israel, killing 1,200 and taking 251 hostages to Gaza.
At 10:28 Beijing time, U.S. crude oil continued to trade at $60.11 per barrel.
- Risk Warning and Disclaimer
- The market involves risk, and trading may not be suitable for all investors. This article is for reference only and does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it take into account certain users’ specific investment objectives, financial situation, or other needs. Any investment decisions made based on this information are at your own risk.
