While the United States and Israel continue to carry out combined strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not halted its strikes against Hamas and other Palestinian terror operatives in the Gaza Strip.
Gaza is still demarcated by the Yellow Line, which splits the territory into areas controlled by the IDF and areas still held by Hamas. Throughout the conflict with Iran, US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan has remained in its second phase, which requires Hamas to totally disarm. However, the IDF continues to document and attribute efforts by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza to either reconstitute strength or carry out attacks against Israeli forces.
Palestinian groups violated the Gaza ceasefire at least 22 times between February 28 and April 6, and 139 times in total since the truce’s implementation last October, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). In the week preceding the conflict, the Israeli military also reported an additional four ceasefire violations:
- On February 21, the IDF reported that “forces of the Northern Brigade Combat Team operating in the northern Gaza Strip identified a terrorist in the Yellow Line area who approached the forces in a manner that constituted an immediate threat. Immediately after the identification, the forces neutralized the terrorist in order to remove the threat.”
- On February 22, the IDF said that “forces of the 188th Brigade’s combat team operating in the southern Gaza Strip identified a terrorist who crossed the yellow line and approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat.” The IDF said that the individual was eliminated.
- On February 26, the IDF reported that “Golani Brigade combat team forces operating in the southern Gaza Strip identified a terrorist who crossed the yellow line and approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat. Immediately following the identification, the forces eliminated the terrorist in order to remove the threat.”
- Also on February 26, the IDF stated that “combat team forces of the ‘Iron Fist’ Brigade (205) operating in northern Gaza Strip identified several terrorists in the Yellow Line area who approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat to them. Immediately following the identification, the Air Force, guided by the forces, attacked and eliminated some of the terrorists in order to remove the threat.”
On February 28, the United States and Israel launched combined strikes against Iran, beginning the ongoing campaign. Concurrently with the war effort, the IDF paused its reporting on ceasefire violations for approximately a week before resuming reports in early March:
- On March 8, the IDF said that it had “struck two terrorists from the Hamas terror organization who were planning to carry out a sniper attack against IDF forces in the northern [Gaza] Strip in the immediate time frame.”
- On March 10, the IDF reported that the previous day, “combat teams of the ‘Iron Fist’ Brigade (205) operating in the northern Gaza Strip identified yesterday four terrorists who crossed the yellow line in violation of the agreement and approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat.” The IDF also said that a fifth “terrorist” was also identified crossing the Yellow Line in a separate area of northern Gaza. The IDF fired on the individuals, eliminating three.
- On March 10, the IDF reported that in a separate incident the previous day, in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, “combat team forces of the Golani Brigade […] eliminated three terrorists as part of the operations being carried out in the terrain.” Hamas and other armed groups were not permitted to inhabit areas east of the Yellow Line, where the city of Rafah lies.
- On March 10, the IDF said that it had “struck a launch site containing a rocket launcher in the Sabra area of Gaza City,” adding that the “site was used by the terrorist organization Hamas to fire rockets toward the territory of the State of Israel.”
- On March 11, the IDF said that it had eliminated two individuals “who planned to carry out a terror attack against IDF forces,” and “two additional terrorists in an underground complex” in the city of Rafah. Additionally, the IDF said that troops located a cache of “combat equipment […] intended to be used by the terrorists against IDF forces.”
- On March 12, the IDF said that “combat teams of the ‘Iron Fist’ Brigade (205) operating in the northern Gaza Strip identified earlier today four terrorists who crossed the yellow line and approached the forces in a manner that posed an immediate threat.” The individuals were eliminated, according to the statement.
- On March 14, the IDF said that during clearing operations in Rafah, a terrorist opened fire on soldiers with the Paratroopers Brigade, causing no injuries. The troops “responded with fire and eliminated the terrorist,” according to the statement. Additionally, the IDF said it had eliminated “two additional armed terrorists from the Hamas terror organization” in strikes in Khan Younis.
- On March 15, the IDF reported that it had eliminated a Hamas cell “that was planning to carry out” an attack against IDF soldiers in Gaza. Several of the members of the cell had infiltrated Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks, according to the Israeli military.
- On March 16, the IDF said it had eliminated Kamal Ayash, a “key commander” in Hamas’s anti-tank unit, after a terrorist had fired at IDF troops two days prior. The strike came “in response to” the attack, which the IDF labeled a violation of the ceasefire.
- Also on March 16, the IDF said that an armed individual had fired toward IDF forces in Rafah during clearing operations. The Israeli soldiers “responded with fire […] and eliminated” the threat. Later, Israel reported that it had struck and “eliminated two additional” Hamas members in Khan Younis.
- On March 18, the IDF reported that it had struck and eliminated Yahyah Abu Labda, a Hamas commander who was attempting to “advance Hamas’s production” of materials for its precision rocket production program. According to the statement, Labda had “led and advanced the transfer of dozens of tons of raw materials for rocket production and advanced electronic components.”
- On March 19, the IDF said that forces had eliminated Muhammad Abu Shalal the previous day. The Israeli military identified Shalal as a Hamas “military intelligence commander” responsible for, among other things, rebuilding “the organization’s capabilities in the Gaza Strip” and plotting “to carry out terror attacks against IDF forces operating in the [Gaza] Strip.”
- Also on March 19, the IDF reported that “combat team forces of the Iron Fist Brigade (205) identified, in two separate incidents, four armed terrorists in the Yellow Line area who posed an immediate threat to the forces.” The IDF said that troops had eliminated the individuals.
- On March 22, the IDF said that it had eliminated “a terrorist in the Gaza Strip who posed a real and immediate threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.” Without identifying the individual, the IDF said that “he was operating to advance plans for terrorist attacks in the territory of the State of Israel.”
- On March 23, the IDF said that “IDF forces identified an armed terrorist squad from the Hamas terror organization traveling on a pickup truck in the center of the Gaza Strip yesterday. Immediately after the identification, the IDF struck and eliminated the armed terrorists in order to remove the threat to our forces.”
- On March 25, the IDF said that it had struck a Hamas cell conducting training exercises in Gaza and threatening IDF troops in the area.
- On March 29, the IDF reported that it “identified a squad of about ten armed terrorists from the Hamas terror organization operating in the center of the Gaza Strip. Immediately after identification, the IDF struck and eliminated the armed terrorists to remove the threat.” Additionally, the IDF said it struck “Ahmed Fayiz Salem Abu Rida,” a Hamas operative who had “systematically violated the terms of the agreement, including by crossing the yellow line multiple times, transferring funds to suspects for terror activity, and posing a threat to IDF forces.” Rida was released from Israeli prison in early 2025 as part of a previous ceasefire agreement.
- On March 30, the Israeli military said that its forces had “identified armed terrorists from the Hamas terror organization during the night while operating in the northern Gaza Strip.” The statement said that the IDF troops “struck and eliminated the armed terrorists in order to remove the threat to [Israeli] forces.”
- On March 31, the IDF reported that the previous day, forces had eliminated Ibrahim al Khalidi, a member of Hamas’s “naval array” who had “served as a hub of knowledge, planned, and led terror plots against IDF forces from the maritime arena in the Gaza Strip.”
- On April 3, the IDF reported that it had “identified […] an armed terrorist squad from the Hamas terror organization, which was operating near IDF forces operating in the northern Gaza Strip in a manner that posed an immediate threat to the forces.” Israel said that after the identification, the IDF “attacked the squad in a targeted manner with the aim of removing the threat,” and that they had identified a hit, releasing video footage of the strike.
- On April 5, the IDF said that the previous night, forces had identified “a Hamas terrorist cell armed and operating near IDF forces in the northern Gaza Strip in a manner that posed an immediate threat to the forces.” The cell was eliminated, according to the statement.
- On April 6, the IDF reported that two days earlier, forces “struck and eliminated in the central Gaza Strip the terrorist Ali Ahmed Ali Amrain, who was involved in smuggling weapons for the Hamas terror organization.” According to the Israeli military, “Amrain operated to supply numerous weapons to the Hamas terror organization, which were used to carry out terror attacks throughout the Strip. The IDF struck and eliminated the terrorist in order to remove the threat to the forces.”
