In brief
A second night of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, Khan Younis and Deir el‑Balah has left at least eight Palestinians dead, according to local authorities. Israeli forces say they targeted Hamas operatives, killing two militants, while Palestinians report civilian casualties, including a child and a family of three. The strikes come days after Hamas accepted a disarmament agreement overseen by a US‑backed Board of Peace, but Israel maintains skepticism about the plan’s enforcement. Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen has urged full control of Gaza, a stance clashing with the ceasefire roadmap that envisages Israeli withdrawal and reconstruction. The conflict has now claimed over 1,100 lives since October.
In the early hours of Tuesday, Israeli aircraft carried out airstrikes on residential areas in Gaza City, Khan Younis and Deir el‑Balah, killing at least eight Palestinians, officials said. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) described the operation as a targeted strike against military operatives; they confirmed that two Hamas militants—one from the elite Nukhba unit and another from the Maghazi Battalion—were killed.
The attacks marked the second consecutive night of air raids, coming just days after Hamas accepted a disarmament plan announced by former U.S. President Donald Trump, which would hand over its weapons to a Board of Peace established by the U.S. The Israel–Gaza ceasefire roadmap, created in September 2023, envisages Israel’s withdrawal from populated areas and a reconstruction plan for the Strip.
Local Palestinian health officials reported that two people, including a child, died in a strike on a residential building in Gaza City. A family of a father, mother and nine‑year‑old son were killed when one of their homes in Khan Younis was struck, and a man and woman died after an apartment block in Deir el‑Balah was hit. In total, over 1,100 Palestinians have died since the ceasefire was imposed last October.
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen announced on Sunday that no agreement had been reached to stop attacks on the Gaza Strip, which is now under 70% Israeli control. He called for the territory to be placed under full Israeli authority, even hinting that the U.S. Board of Peace’s proposal for Israel’s withdrawal was not acceptable.
The disarmament roadmap, still awaiting implementation, calls for a systematic inventory and sequestration of heavy weapons, production sites, depots and tunnels, contingent on Israel honouring its ceasefire commitments. While the plan envisions a Palestinian National Committee—recently formed in Cairo but yet to enter Gaza—to manage the storage of weapons, questions remain about how the transfer will be executed.
Israel has destroyed more than 1,500 structures in the areas of Gaza it still controls, according to satellite imagery released earlier. The United Nations estimates that roughly 60 million tonnes of rubble have been generated since October, underscoring the extensive destruction and the continued humanitarian crisis in the Strip.
