Gaza talks to start after truce resumes following Israeli strikes that killed 36

JERUSALEM — Gaza's fragile ceasefire faced its first major test on Sunday as Israeli forces launched a wave of deadly strikes, saying Hamas militants had killed two soldiers, and an Israeli security official said the transfer of aid into the territory was halted.

The military later said it resumed enforcing the truce, and the security official confirmed that aid deliveries would resume on Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue with the media.

A little over a week has passed since the start of the United States-proposed ceasefire aimed at ending two years of conflict. US President Donald Trump said the truce remained in place and "we want to make sure it's going to be very peaceful".

He told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that Hamas has been "quite rambunctious "and "they've been doing some shooting". He suggested the violence might be the fault of "rebels "within the organization rather than its leadership.

"It's going to be handled toughly but properly," he said. Trump did not say whether he thought the Israeli strikes were justified, saying "it's under review".

Health officials said at least 36 Palestinians were killed across Gaza, including children. Israel's military said it struck dozens of Hamas targets after its troops came under fire.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to respond forcefully to what he described as Hamas' violations of the ceasefire.

The military said militants had fired at troops in areas of the southern Rafah city that are Israeli-controlled according to agreed-upon ceasefire lines.

Hamas, which continued to accuse Israel of numerous ceasefire violations, said communication with its remaining units in Rafah had been cut off for months and "we are not responsible for any incidents occurring in those areas".

Cairo meeting

A Hamas delegation was to meet Qatari and Egyptian officials in Cairo on Monday to discuss the continuation of the Gaza ceasefire, a source close to negotiations told Agence France-Presse.

The source said that the delegation, headed by Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, would discuss "the dozens of airstrikes that killed dozens in the Gaza Strip "on Sunday.

It was also to meet Egyptian officials to discuss an upcoming intra-Palestinian dialogue hosted by Egypt and aiming "to unify the Palestinian factions", the source said.

Palestinians feared war would return to the famine-stricken territory in which Israel cut off aid for more than two months earlier this year after ending a previous ceasefire.

"It will be a nightmare," said Mahmoud Hashim, a father of five from Gaza City, who appealed to Trump and other mediators to act.

One hospital said it received 24 bodies from several Israeli strikes in the Nuseirat and Bureij camps in central Gaza.

An airstrike on a makeshift cafe in the town of Zawaida in central Gaza killed at least six Palestinians, Gaza's Health Ministry said. A strike in Beit Lahiya in the north killed two men, hospital officials said.

Another strike hit a tent in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis in the south, killing at least four people, including a woman and two children, according to the Nasser Hospital.

"Where is peace?" said Khadijeh abu-Nofal in Khan Younis, as hospital workers treated wounded children. She accompanied a young woman hurt by shrapnel.

Agencies Via Xinhua