Hamas warns of Gaza ceasefire collapsing after Israeli raid

Fares Akram and Dan Williams, Bloomberg News on Sep 2, 2026

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Israeli forces captured a Hamas security chief in a rare raid deep into the Gaza Strip, prompting the Iran-backed militant group to warn that an already shaky ceasefire could break down completely.

The daylight operation on Tuesday to capture Mouin Mohammed Al-Arabeed near Gaza City was accompanied by multiple Israeli air strikes that killed four Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The move came with hostilities between Iran and the U.S. intensifying this week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Al-Arabeed of having held hostages taken in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu, who is trying to secure support from right-leaning citizens ahead of next month’s general election, said Al-Arabeed “sought to restore Hamas’ governance in Gaza,” carried out attacks against Israeli forces and civilians, and opposed efforts to demilitarize the territory.

Hamas said its fighters killed several Israeli soldiers during the operation, though the Israel Defense Forces denied suffering any casualties.

The ceasefire was agreed last October as a first stage of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to rebuild the Gaza and get Israeli forces — who control around 65% of the shattered territory — to withdraw. Israel and the U.S. say Hamas must disarm as a first step.

Hamas, backed by Iran and designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and European Union, wants Israeli troops to leave occur before it disarms.

“These deliberate escalatory steps by the Occupation are aimed at undermining the ceasefire agreement, sabotaging efforts to complete its implementation and creating conditions for the continuation of the war,” Hamas said after the Israeli raid.

Hamas said it discussed Tuesday’s events with Nickolay Mladenov, a top official at Trump’s Board of Peace, the international consortium tasked with implementing the U.S. plan. The Board of Peace did not immediately respond to a Bloomberg request for comment.

Israel says its military operations during the truce have been necessary to fend off Hamas threats, or to eliminate Palestinians who took part in the Oct. 7th attack. Israel’s strikes have killed more than 1,300 Palestinians since the start of the ceasefire, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Mladenov has criticized Israel for being too aggressive.

“Every use of force that does not answer an imminent threat costs this process something very hard to buy back,” he said to the U.N. Security Council last week.