In brief
The latest Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip have resulted in at least 13 deaths, including children, according to Palestinian authorities. Israeli forces say the attacks targeted Hamas militants and aimed to weaken the group's military capabilities. The raid comes days after Hamas agreed to a disarmament plan overseen by a Board of Peace, though Israel remains skeptical and calls for full control of the territory. The conflict has already caused over a thousand civilian casualties, exacerbating an already devastating humanitarian crisis. As international efforts to broker a ceasefire falter, the region faces mounting uncertainty.
At least 13 people, including several children, were killed in the latest Israeli air attacks on Gaza City, Khan Younis and Deir el‑Balah, according to Gaza's Civil Defence Authority.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said the sorties targeted Hamas militants, reporting the deaths of two commanding officers from the group's elite Nukbha force and the Maghazi Battalion. A third Hamas militant from the Jabalia Battalion was reportedly killed in a separate strike last week.
The attacks also coincided with Hamas's agreement to hand over its weapons under a plan overseen by a Board of Peace, a US‑brokered initiative that has yet to be fully implemented. President Donald Trump hailed the move as a “big step for the Middle East,” while Israeli officials, including Energy Minister Eli Cohen, remain skeptical, insisting the Strip must come under full Israeli control if Hamas refuses to disarm.
Gaza's health authorities report that a residential building in the capital was struck, killing two people, one a child, while a separate strike on a house in Khan Younis claimed the lives of a father, mother and their nine‑year‑old son. Two other civilians were killed by attacks on an apartment block in Deir el‑Balah and near Jabalia in the north.
Since the ceasefire declared in October, more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed, according to UN estimates, a figure that includes the physical destruction caused by over 1,500 buildings destroyed by Israel in Gaza areas still under its control. Satellite images confirm significant debris and damage across the Strip.
The Board of Peace, set up as part of a 20‑point ceasefire plan unveiled last September, intends to inventory and store heavy weapons and military sites, conditional on Israel's adherence to prior agreements. The Palestinian National Committee, a technocratic group that Hamas has been asked to hand over power to, has yet to enter Gaza but is expected to manage the storage and oversee the disarmament process.
