
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered "immediate and forceful strikes" on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday after an Israeli military official said Hamas violated the ceasefire.
The official told Fox News that the terrorist group attacked Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers in Rafah.
"Following security consultations, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the military echelon to carry out immediate and powerful strikes on the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu's office said on Tuesday.
Tuesday's incident comes after two IDF soldiers were killed by terrorist operatives in Rafah earlier this month, Israeli military sources previously confirmed.
The soldiers, identified as Major Yaniv Kula, 26, a company commander in the 932nd Battalion of the Nahal Brigade, and Staff Sergeant Itay Yavetz, 21, a combat soldier in the same battalion, were both stationed in Modi'in-Maccabim-Reut.
According to an initial IDF investigation into that incident, a militant cell had emerged from a tunnel and shot at an excavation vehicle, killing the two soldiers. A reservist soldier was also seriously injured and evacuated to a hospital, according to The Times of Israel.
In response to this attack, the IDF launched air and ground strikes throughout southern Gaza.
"The IDF also struck and dismantled six kilometers of underground terrorist infrastructure, using over 120 munitions. The underground location was used by terrorist organizations to advance attacks against the State of Israel," it said in a statement.