(MENAFN) Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has urged a restart of military action in Gaza, saying the move is needed after what he described as Hamas’s violations of the truce reached earlier this month.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported that militants launched an anti tank missile and opened fire on Israeli soldiers conducting operations in Rafah, in southern Gaza, on Sunday.

Israel replied with a series of airstrikes against sites it labeled terror objectives.

“I call on the prime minister to order the IDF to renew full-scale fighting in the Strip at full strength,” Gvir said in a statement on Sunday.

“The false belief that Hamas will change its ways, or will even abide by the agreement it signed, is proving...to be dangerous to our security. This Nazi terrorist organization must be destroyed completely and the sooner the better.”

A provisional ceasefire was agreed in early October under US President Donald Trump’s 20 point peace plan.

The deal’s opening stage required Hamas to free all remaining Israeli hostages within 72 hours in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

On Monday the group liberated the last 20 surviving captives and handed over the remains of 12 others; Hamas said it had fulfilled its commitments but encountered problems recovering all bodies because of Gaza’s destruction and continuing Israeli control in some sectors.

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