Hamas has said the return of the remaining bodies "may take some time" due to the destruction wrought in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday instructed the country's military to "carry out powerful strikes in Gaza," a statement from his office said, in response to alleged ceasefire violations by Hamas.

US President Trump says "nothing" would jeopardise the two-week-old ceasefire despite the flare-up of violence.

Hamas on Tuesday staged the discovery of remains belonging to an Israeli hostage, with video showing the terrorists reburying a corpse and then flagging it to the Red Cross — further justifying

Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 20 people, including children, after Israel accused Hamas of violating the US-brokered ceasefire deal and staging the discovery of a deceased hostage.

In the weeks since Israel and Hamas agreed to a fragile ceasefire and hostage deal, Indonesia, which boasts the biggest Muslim population in the world, has emerged as an intriguing partner to a White House keen on making peace in the Middle East a defining legacy of his presidency.

The order from Netanyahu follows heightened tensions after Hamas returned a set of remains that Israel said belonged to a hostage recovered earlier in the war.

Earlier this month, Israel and Hamas announced a ceasefire to the two-year war in Gaza. The agreement was brokered in part by the United States, but American officials are concerned, according to the New York Times,

Regional players are unlikely to want their forces to “fight Hamas or get caught in the crossfire,” a former U.S. ambassador to Israel told NBC News.