An Israeli airstrike struck the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing four Palestinians, local health officials. The attack targeted a group on Jaffa Street near the Darraj neighborhood in Gaza City, resulting in multiple casualties and injuries. This incident marks the latest escalation amid a fragile ceasefire and ongoing mediation efforts to reinforce the agreement.
The Israeli military stated that its forces engaged and eliminated members of a Palestinian militant cell operating close to Israeli troops, who posed an immediate threat. Both Hamas and Israel have accused each other of violating the ceasefire established last October, which ended two years of intense conflict.
Since the ceasefire’s inception, the Gaza health ministry reports that Israeli fire has caused at least 700 Palestinian deaths. Conversely, Israel reports that militants in Gaza have killed four Israeli soldiers during the same period.
In a significant development, a Hamas delegation recently met with Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators in Cairo to respond to a disarmament proposal presented last month. Hamas has insisted it will not consider disarmament without assurances that Israel will fully withdraw from Gaza, as outlined in a plan from U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace,” multiple sources.
Hamas’ disarmament remains a critical obstacle in implementing Trump’s plan for the Palestinian enclave and solidifying the ceasefire. The conflict’s roots run deep: Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulted in 1,200 Israeli deaths, while Israel’s subsequent two-year military campaign has killed over 72,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, Gaza health authorities. The campaign has also caused widespread famine, destroyed much of Gaza’s infrastructure, and displaced the majority of its population, often multiple times.
