By Elsie Kamsiyochi
At least eleven Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes across the Gaza Strip early Sunday, according to Palestinian civil defence teams and health officials, highlighting the continuing volatility of a ceasefire that has struggled to hold since it came into force last October.
Palestinian emergency services said six people were killed when an Israeli strike hit a tent encampment in northern Gaza, an area where many displaced families have sought shelter amid widespread destruction.
Another strike in southern Gaza killed five more people, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Medics said several others were wounded in the attacks, though the full extent of the injuries was still being assessed.
The Israeli military, formally known as the Israel Defense Forces, said it carried out the strikes in response to what it described as ceasefire violations by Hamas.
In a statement, the IDF said it had targeted “terror infrastructure” and claimed militants were killed after emerging from a tunnel into an area of Gaza under Israeli military control.
Since the ceasefire took effect on 10 October, both Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused one another of breaching the agreement, often on a near-daily basis.
While the truce has reduced the intensity of fighting compared with earlier phases of the war, sporadic air strikes, rocket fire, and ground incidents have continued to claim lives.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says that at least 600 people have been killed since the ceasefire began, a figure that includes civilians and fighters. Earlier this month, a separate wave of Israeli air strikes reportedly killed at least 32 people across the territory, according to local officials, further fuelling concerns about the durability of the agreement.
Sunday’s strikes came as preparations continued for the second phase of a US-brokered ceasefire plan, which aims to move beyond a fragile pause in fighting toward longer-term security and political arrangements in Gaza.
Last month, US President Donald Trump announced the creation of a new international body known as the Board of Peace.
The board has a mandate endorsed by the United Nations Security Council to help secure Gaza’s border areas, oversee the disarmament of Hamas, and support the establishment of a new technocratic Palestinian administration in the territory.
The Board of Peace is also expected to play a central role in coordinating post-war reconstruction in Gaza, where vast swathes of housing, infrastructure, and public services have been destroyed.
Its first meeting is scheduled to take place in Washington on 19 February. As part of the second phase of the ceasefire, Indonesia—one of the board’s members—has announced plans to deploy 8,000 soldiers to Gaza to contribute to an international security force.
The current conflict began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. Israel responded with a massive military campaign in Gaza that has lasted more than a year.
The territory’s health ministry says more than 71,820 people have been killed since the war began, a figure Israel disputes but which has been widely cited by international agencies.
Beyond Gaza, regional tensions remain high. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Washington last week to meet President Trump, where discussions focused heavily on Iran’s nuclear programme. Netanyahu was expected to urge the US to pursue an agreement that would halt Iran’s uranium enrichment and curb its ballistic missile development.
However, Trump later said that “nothing definitive” had been agreed and confirmed that talks with Tehran would continue.
Iran has long insisted its nuclear programme is intended solely for civilian purposes. Its deputy foreign minister told BBC News that further negotiations would take place in Geneva on Tuesday, a date that was also confirmed to Reuters by an unnamed US official.
As diplomatic efforts unfold on multiple fronts, the latest bloodshed in Gaza underscores how precarious the situation remains on the ground, with civilians once again bearing the brunt of a conflict that shows few signs of a lasting resolution.
Source BBC
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