The Gaza ceasefire is being violently broken by both sides

The Donald Trump ceasefire in Gaza has been running for three weeks but there has been little peace for the Palestinian people. Take yesterday for example. According to Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Hamas attacked Israeli troops around Rafah in the south and killed one soldier. In retaliation, Israel launched sustained airstrikes and killed 100 people, the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza claimed. The health ministry never distinguishes between combatants and innocent civilians, so we don't know for sure how many of the dead in Gaza from the airstrikes were Hamas gunmen, but Israel claims to have killed "dozens" of them. The one thing that appears to be certain is that when Hamas launches an attack and kills an Israeli soldier, the response from Tel Aviv is always overwhelming. If 100 Palestinians (Hamas and others) were killed, as claimed, that means the death of one Israeli soldier has led to the deaths of one hundred more people in Gaza. In war, there is this notion, well you could call it code, that retaliatory strikes should somehow be proportionate. An eye for an eye, if you like. And also, of course, that civilians should never be deliberately targeted. Is the death of 100 people in retaliation for the killing of one Israeli soldier proportionate? On the face of it, it is wildly disproportionate, made considerably worse by the fact that it is claimed some of those killed in the latest breach in the ceasefire were children. Israel has always stated that it has never targeted civilians in Gaza but the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a veteran soldier himself, knows that airstrikes can never be "clean". Many Hamas gunmen may have been killed but the collateral damage (civilian deaths) cannot be avoided. When there is supposed to be a ceasefire in Gaza, even if Hamas violated it first, is it justified for Israel to launch airstrikes in retaliation? Judging by the claimed death toll from the strikes, I would say it is highly questionable. BUY MY NEW SPY THRILLER, AGENT REDRUTH, STARRING SUPER SPY REBECCA STRONG, AVAILABLE FROM AMAZON, WATERSTONES, ROWANVALE BOOKS AND ALL GOOD BOOKSHOPS