Camille Naredo

People run for cover following an Israeli strike that targeted a building in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on October 19, 2025. Eyad Baba, AFP

People run for cover following an Israeli strike that targeted a building in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on October 19, 2025. Gaza's civil defence agency said a series of Israeli air strikes on October 19 killed at least 11 people across the territory, as Israel and Hamas traded blame for violating a ceasefire. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

Article (news)

GAZA

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1761493025027AFP__20251019__79BH4T6__v1__MidRes__PalestinianIsraelConflictGaza.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="People run for cover following an Israeli strike that targeted a building in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on October 19, 2025. Eyad Baba, AFP"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">People run for cover following an Israeli strike that targeted a building in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on October 19, 2025. <em>Eyad Baba, AFP</em></span></span></span></div><p>JERUSALEM -- Israel insisted on Sunday that it will maintain control of security inside Gaza despite signing up to a US-brokered ceasefire that foresees the deployment of an international security force.</p><p>Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ministers that Israel would decide for itself where and when to strike its foes and which countries would be allowed to send troops to police the truce.</p><p>&quot;Israel is an independent state. We will defend ourselves by our own means and we will continue to determine our fate,&quot; Netanyahu said. &quot;We do not seek anyone&#x27;s approval for this. We control our security.&quot;</p><p>Meanwhile, AFP footage showed an Egyptian convoy in Gaza bringing rescuers and heavy machinery to speed up the search for the remains of deceased Israeli hostages Hamas says are lost in the rubble of the devastated Palestinian territory.</p><p>Low-loader lorries flying the Egyptian flag transported bulldozers and mechanical diggers into Gaza, accompanied by tipper trucks sounding their horns and flashing their lights, en route to an Egyptian aid committee based in Al-Zawayda.</p><p>Israel government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said Netanyahu had personally approved the arrival of the Egyptian team.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/10/23/turkey-qatar-step-up-bid-to-protect-gaza-truce-0042">READ: Turkey, Qatar step up bid to protect Gaza truce</a></div><p>&quot;Now, this is a technical team only, and none of these personnel are in the military,&quot; she said.</p><p>&quot;The team are allowed entry beyond the IDF&#x27;s Yellow Line position into Gaza territory to conduct the search for our hostages.&quot;</p><p>Under the terms of a US-brokered ceasefire, as Israeli forces withdraw after the end of two years of brutal fighting against Hamas, an international force, expected to be drawn from mainly Arab or Muslim countries, is supposed to secure Gaza.</p><p>But Israel opposes any role for its regional rival Turkey and Netanyahu, under fire from hardliners in his own coalition for even agreeing the ceasefire, took a stern line on Sunday as government ministers met in Jerusalem.</p><p>&quot;We made clear with respect to international forces that Israel will determine which forces are unacceptable to us,&quot; he said, one day after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wound up the latest in a parade of high-level visits by Washington officials.</p><p>Later, Bedrosian put it more starkly: &quot;The prime minister has said it&#x27;s going to be done the easy way or the hard way, and Israel will have overall security control of the Gaza Strip.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Gaza will be demilitarised and Hamas will have no part in governing the Palestinian people.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/10/23/us-top-diplomat-says-israel-annexation-in-west-bank-threatening-peace-deal-1120">READ: US top diplomat says Israel annexation in West Bank &#x27;threatening&#x27; peace deal</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Child&#x27;s dream is gone&#x27; -</strong></div><p>Aid agencies complain that humanitarian convoys still do not have enough access to Gaza to alleviate the famine conditions in parts of the territory, and families there are still going hungry.</p><p>AFP journalists followed the family of 62-year-old grandmother Hiam Muqdad for a day in their Gaza City neighbourhood, where they live in a tent next to their ruined home and her barefoot grandchildren gather domestic waste and twigs to burn to heat water.</p><p>&quot;When they said there was a truce, oh my God, a tear of joy and a tear of sadness fell from my eye,&quot; Muqdad told AFP. &quot;The child&#x27;s dream is gone. In the past they used to go to the park but today children play on the rubble.&quot;</p><p>Israel has withdrawn its forces within Gaza to the so-called &quot;Yellow Line&quot; but remains in control of more than half the territory, approves every UN aid convoy going through its borders and has carried out at least two strikes since the ceasefire.</p><p>To underline Israel&#x27;s independence of action, Netanyahu said it had pummeled Gaza with 150 tonnes of munitions on October 19 after two of its soldiers were killed, and had conducted a strike on Saturday targeting an Islamic Jihad militant.</p><p>The United States and allies have set up a truce monitoring centre in southern Israel -- the Civil-Military Coordination Centre (CMCC) -- and dispatched a string of top officials from President Donald Trump&#x27;s administration to promote the ceasefire.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/10/23/un-court-says-israel-must-ease-aid-into-gaza-provide-basic-needs-0046">READ: UN court says Israel must ease aid into Gaza, provide &#x27;basic needs&#x27;</a></div><p>The latest Israeli strike came just as Rubio was leaving Jerusalem, but Washington&#x27;s top diplomat said he remained optimistic the ceasefire would broadly hold if Hamas agrees to disarm and hand over the rule of Gaza.</p><p>Rubio told reporters that Washington did not expect the Yellow Line to become Gaza&#x27;s new border and that Israel would eventually pull back.</p><p>&quot;I think, ultimately, the point of the stabilisation force is to move that line until it covers hopefully all of Gaza, meaning all of Gaza will be demilitarised,&quot; Rubio told reporters on his plane as he flew on to Qatar.</p><p>The main Palestinian factions, including Hamas, have agreed to form a committee of technocrats to administer Gaza alongside the ceasefire and reconstruction effort.</p><p>But Hamas has resisted calls for its immediate disarmament and has launched a crackdown on rival Palestinian gangs and armed groups in Gaza.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/10/18/un-aid-chief-foresees-massive-job-ahead-on-tour-of-ruined-gaza-1840">READ: UN aid chief foresees &#x27;massive job&#x27; ahead on tour of ruined Gaza</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>- Hostage recovery -</strong></div><div><script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAFz8gWM8iRADsJr&amp;cid=ABpLK8SaH8AjffwO"></script></div><p>On Saturday, Mousa Abu Marzouk, Hamas&#x27;s head of international relations and legal affairs, warned: &quot;Excluding Hamas from maintaining stability in the Gaza Strip could lead to chaos and a security vacuum.&quot;</p><p>Hamas insists it is serious about returning the remaining 13 hostage bodies.</p><p>They include 10 Israelis kidnapped during the group&#x27;s attack on October 7, 2023 that triggered the conflict, one Israeli missing since 2014, a Thai and a Tanzanian worker.</p><p>Hamas has already returned the remaining 20 living hostages and 15 bodies of hostages.</p><p>But Hamas warns it will struggle to find the bodies of the others in the ruins of Gaza, where more than 68,500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, according to figures from the health ministry of the Hamas-run territory deemed reliable by the UN.</p><p>Bedrosian dismissed this, telling reporters: &quot;Hamas knows where our hostages are, and we know they are aware of their locations... If Hamas made more of an effort, they would be able to retrieve the remains of our hostages.&quot;</p>

<p>Israel insisted on Sunday that it will maintain control of security inside Gaza despite signing up to a US-brokered ceasefire that foresees the deployment of an international security force.</p>

Israel insisted on Sunday that it will maintain control of security inside Gaza despite signing up to a US-brokered ceasefire that foresees the deployment of an international security force.

Israel insists it calls shots in Gaza despite truce

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

BINI

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

World

Israel insists it calls shots in Gaza despite truce

Dave Clark with AFP team in Gaza

Published October 27, 2025 12:31 AM PHT

Read More:

Israel

Gaza

Hamas

Palestine

Israel-Hamas War

ceasefire

truce

Benjamin Netanyahu

Middle East

conflict

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

Sign Up

I have read and agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Haven't received our newsletter?

Check your inbox to verify and confirm your subscription.

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.