Hamas says it is "unaware of any events or clashes" happening in Rafah in southern Gaza, after Israel said it carried out air strikes in the area to "eliminate the threat" after "terrorists" fired towards IDF troops.

Here is the Hamas statement:

We affirm our full commitment to implementing everything that was agreed upon, foremost among which is the ceasefire in all areas of the Gaza Strip. We are unaware of any events or clashes taking place in the Rafah area, as these are red zones under the control of the occupation.

Contact with our remaining groups there has been cut off since the resumption of war in March of this year. We have no information as to whether they have been martyred or are still alive since that date.

Therefore, we have no connection to any events taking place in those areas, and we cannot communicate with any of our fighters there, if any of them are still alive.

Earlier the IDF accused Hamas of "blatant violation" of the truce in a statement. Netanyahu has told security forces to "act forcefully against terror targets".

Image source, Reuters

We've just received a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The statement says Netanyahu has held meetings with his defence minister and security chiefs, in which he instructed them to "act forcefully against terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip".

At least eight people have been killed in Gaza in the past 24 hours as a result of direct Israeli targeting, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health says in an update.

An additional three people have been injured, it adds, and 10 bodies have been recovered.

But "victims remain under the rubble and in the streets" as ambulances and crews cannot reach them, it adds.

Since Trump's ceasefire plan came into effect, 35 people have been killed, 146 injured and the bodies of 414 deceased people have been recovered, the ministry says.

It says the death toll has risen to 68,159 since Israel's military launched a campaign in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 251 others hostage.

For context: Israeli soldiers continue to operate in more than half of the Gaza Strip, under the terms of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement

The Israel Defense Forces has just released a statement, confirming the strikes in southern Gaza. Here it is in full:

Earlier today, terrorists fired an anti-tank missile and gunfire toward IDF troops operating to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the Rafah area, in southern Gaza, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement.

In response, the IDF has begun striking in the area to eliminate the threat and dismantle tunnel shafts and military structures used for terrorist activity.

These terrorist actions constitute a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement, and the IDF will respond firmly.

• In response, Hamas has said it "remains committed to the ceasefire agreement", accusing Israel of "violating the deal and fabricating pretexts to justify its crimes"

Image source, EPA

The latest Israeli air strikes in Rafah come five days after world leaders signed the US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.

During the first phase of the ceasefire, all living hostages have been released as well as 12 out of 28 of those deceased.

Israel's military confirmed on Saturday that the remains of Ronen Engel, a 54-year-old photographer, and 30-year-old Thai farm worker Sonthaya Akrasri were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza. They were the 11th and 12th of 28 dead hostages to be returned under the deal.

Hamas has blamed Israel for making the returns difficult, as air strikes on Gaza have reduced many buildings to rubble, and Israel does not allow heavy machinery and diggers into the territory.

Also as part of the agreement, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners in its jails and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

The bodies of 15 more Palestinians were handed over by Israel via the Red Cross to officials in Gaza on Sunday, the Hamas-run health ministry said, bringing the total number of bodies it has received to 150.

A real risk of further fighting between Palestinian factionspublished at 12:06 BST 19 October

12:06 BST 19 October

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

Phase one of the Trump-brokered ceasefire is not yet complete but already there have been armed clashes inside the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli military official confirmed that air strikes have been carried out on Hamas fighters following what the official said were rocket-propelled grenade attacks and sniper fire by Hamas inside the area controlled by Israel.

Under the terms of the ceasefire deal, Hamas is obliged to hand over its weapons and relinquish power. It has yet to do so.

Hamas has accused Israel of funding and arming rival gangs that it says have looted aid trucks. It says Israel is deliberately empowering criminal gangs so as to challenge Hamas’s authority and foment chaos.

Without the presence of a robust international force in Gaza, there is now a real risk of further internecine fighting between Palestinian factions.

A proposed International Stabilisation Force has yet to be formed, let alone deployed.

President Donald Trump's plan to end the two-year-old Gaza war came into force on 10 October, and phase one resulted in the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Another important part of the plan was for Israeli troops to withdraw to a line that left it in control of about 53% of the Strip.

According to a map distributed by the White House it is meant to be the first of three stages of Israeli withdrawal.

The IDF would also hold on to about a third of the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, a road created by Israel in early 2024 and used to separate the north and south of the territory to control population movement.

In addition to the ceasefire, hundreds of lorries carrying humanitarian aid also started entering Gaza, where a famine was confirmed by UN-backed experts in August.

Rushdi Abualouf
Gaza correspondent

Israeli warplanes carried out several air strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah after Hamas gunmen clashed with a militia reportedly supported by Israel, residents and witnesses tell the BBC.

Residents living south of the European Hospital, the closest spot to the incident, say the strikes were accompanied by artillery shelling, with explosions shaking parts of Rafah.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The targeted area remains under Israeli military control. A local source familiar with the incident tells the BBC that Hamas fighters attacked a group affiliated with Yasser Abu Shabab in south-eastern Rafah, an area controlled by Israeli forces.

The militants reportedly came under surprise tank fire, leading to a short exchange of gunfire before Israeli warplanes bombed the site.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defence, tells the BBC: “We have no clear information about what is happening in Rafah. We received several calls from residents about Israeli airstrikes and shelling, but none of our rescue teams can reach the area because Israeli troops are deployed there.”

In a statement, Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq says the group “remains committed to the ceasefire agreement”, accusing Israel of “violating the deal and fabricating pretexts to justify its crimes".

He adds that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to evade his obligations “come under pressure from his extremist coalition, in a bid to escape accountability before mediators and guarantors".

An Israeli military official confirms it has carried out air strikes in Rafah, southern Gaza, accusing Hamas of attacks in a "bold violation of the ceasefire".

A military spokesman says Hamas carried out "multiple attacks against Israeli forces beyond the yellow line" - which they say is the area Israeli troops have withdrawn to in accordance with phase one of the US-brokered deal.

Hamas says it is committed to the ceasefire and accused Israel of breaking it several times.

Stay with us as we bring you live updates.