Live: Israel dropped 153 tonnes of bombs on Gaza on Sunday

Local media reported that at least two Israeli soldiers were injured as a result of explosives in Tubas, north of the occupied West Bank. 

An evacuation plane arrived at the Tayasir checkpoint in the city following the bomb detonation. 

Battered and bruised but unbowed, Hamas forces were back patrolling the streets of Gaza almost immediately after the ceasefire with Israel came into effect.

It was both a warning to Israeli-linked gangs and collaborators, as it was a statement about who still governs the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave.

US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza envisions a future in which Hamas plays no military or political role.

However, analysts argue that the complex realities on the ground - and the absence of a viable political alternative - cast serious doubt on how feasible it is to marginalise Hamas.

Read more: With ceasefire secured, what’s next for Hamas?

Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt is expected to reopen on Monday, according to the Palestinian embassy in Egypt.

The crossing has been mostly closed since May last year.

Its reopening will allow Palestinians in Egypt to return to the besieged enclave, the embassy notes, but it did not indicate whether aid would pass through. 

The Jenin Battalion of al-Quds Brigades said that its fighters are "confronting" Israeli forces in the northern West Bank.

Israeli incursions and attacks have escalated across the occupied West Bank in recent days, with numerous arrests and assaults reported. 

US envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff expressed that Donald Trump felt "Israelis were getting a little bit out of control" after their assasination attempt on Hamas leadership in Qatar. 

On 9 September, around 12 Israeli air strikes hit residential buildings in Doha around 4pm local time (1pm GMT).

In a joint 60 Minutes interview alongside Jared Kushner, Witkoff said that he and Kushner felt “a little bit betrayed” by the attacks on Doha.

"It had a metastasizing effect because the Qataris were critical to the negotiation, as were the Egyptians and the Turks," said Witkoff.

"We had lost the confidence of the Qataris. And so Hamas went underground, and it was very, very difficult to get to them."

Exclusive: Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, and special envoy Steve Witkoff give a behind-the-scenes look at the tense moments leading up to the ceasefire and hostage deal after an Israeli bombing threatened to derail the agreement.

“[Trump] felt like the Israelis… pic.twitter.com/WtZpJcYHTG

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 17, 2025

Lebanon's state news agency reported that an Israeli drone strike killed at least one person in Kfar Dounine, south of the country. 

The death toll from Israel's two-year onslaught in Gaza has risen to 68,116, with 170,200 others injured.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher inspected a wastewater treatment plant in northern Gaza City that stopped operating as a result of the genocide.

He described the state of the city as a "wasteland" and noted the widespread devastation that has deepened the humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave. 

For over two years, Israel's campaign of bombardment and shelling across the territory has rendered much of its infrastructure destroyed, including sanitation and water plants, schools, residential buildings and public spaces. 

"They're telling me most of all they want dignity."

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher inspected a wastewater treatment plant in northern Gaza City that stopped operating as a result of the genocide pic.twitter.com/Kmalu1pZGR

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) October 18, 2025

The government media office in Gaza said in a press statement that Israel committed 47 breaches of the truce deal since it came into effect last week. 

The violations have led to the killing of at least 38 Palestinians and the wounding of 143 others.

"These violations varied between crimes of direct fire on civilians, crimes of deliberate bombing and targeting, and the arrest of a number of civilian citizens, practices that reflect the occupation's continued aggressive approach despite the declaration of a ceasefire," the office added. 

"We note that these attacks were carried out by the occupation forces using military vehicles and tanks positioned on the outskirts of residential neighborhoods, electronic cranes equipped with sensors and remote targeting devices, and drones (quadcopters) that continue to fly over residential areas, carrying out shooting operations and directly targeting civilians."

Families of medical workers detained by Israel held a demonstration on Saturday, demanding their release from what many rights groups have described as harsh conditions.

The vigil was organised by the Nasser Medical Complex, with participation from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, located in the southern part of the besieged enclave.

Data from the government media office in the blockaded strip revealed that Israel has arrested 362 medical personnel during the two-year genocidal war on Gaza.

Meanwhile, at least 1,670 medical personnel have been killed by Israel since October 2023. 

Translation: A protest organised by medical personnel in front of Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, demanding the release of doctors and nurses detained by the Israeli occupation forces.

US Vice President JD Vance is expected to travel to Israel next week in what will be his first official visit since taking office at the start of the year.

Vance is due to arrive on Monday, coinciding with a visit by White House envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

The two officials are likely visiting the region to discuss the next steps in the Gaza truce deal.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Saturday that it had received 15 remains from the Red Cross that had been held in Israeli custody.

This brings the total number of Palestinian bodies handed over by Israel to the besieged enclave to 135.

As with previous batches, some of the bodies show signs of torture.

So far, seven have been identified by their families.

The Palestinian Civil Defence said it had recovered the bodies of nine Palestinians killed after Israel targeted a bus on Friday night.

Search and rescue teams coordinated with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood to retrieve the remains.

According to local reports, Israel shelled a vehicle carrying displaced people on Friday night, despite the ceasefire that came into effect last week.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to the Middle East on Sunday, a US official and source told Axios.

Witkoff is set to head towards Egypt and Israel during the upcoming tour, as well as make a possible visit to the Gaza Strip.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates from Israel's war on Gaza:

• The International Criminal Court has rejected a request to cancel the arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.

• Heavy Israeli shelling has been reported across the Gaza Strip, particularly in Gaza City. Meanwhile, Israeli gunboats opened fire on a group of fishermen near the Gaza port.

• The director of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society in Gaza City indicated that there are at least 170,000 wounded people in need of surgery. The enclave’s collapsing healthcare system lacks the equipment required to treat patients.

• Eleven people were killed late on Friday when Israeli forces targeted a civilian vehicle carrying displaced Palestinians as they were inspecting their homes east of the Zeitoun neighbourhood, located in Gaza City.

• The Red Cross received its fourth batch of Palestinian bodies that had been withheld by Israel.