Israeli attacks across Gaza killed at least nine Palestinians on Sunday as Energy Minister Eli Cohen said no agreement had been reached to stop the strikes and called for Israel to take complete control of the enclave.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Israeli airstrikes killed at least nine Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, extending the attacks into a second consecutive day despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that progress had been made toward carrying out the ceasefire agreement reached last year.
Palestinian health officials reported strikes in Gaza City in the north, Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Younis in the south. The Israeli military said several of the attacks were directed at Hamas commanders or other military operatives, while acknowledging that some incidents remained under review.
In Deir al-Balah, a man and his wife were killed when an apartment was struck, and four other people were wounded, medics said. A separate attack on an apartment in Gaza City killed two people, including a child.
Around dawn, an Israeli strike hit a house in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, killing a father, a mother and their 9-year-old son. Another person was killed near Jabalia in northern Gaza.
The Israeli military said the Deir al-Balah strikes targeted two commanders in Hamas’ elite “Nukhba” force. It said the attacks in Gaza City and Jabalia were also aimed at “military operatives,” although the military was continuing to review the circumstances.
At least 1,230 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the ceasefire was reached in October.
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Sunday that Israel had not agreed to suspend its attacks. Cohen, a member of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s security cabinet, also said he believed Israel should take full control of Gaza. Israel already controls about 70% of the territory.
The security cabinet is a smaller group of ministers responsible for overseeing Israel’s security and diplomatic policies.
Trump said Thursday that negotiators had achieved a breakthrough after Hamas agreed to disarm under a U.S.-backed initiative intended to advance the ceasefire agreement reached in Egypt last year.
The Board of Peace, a U.S.-led body overseeing the ceasefire process, released a 15-point roadmap Friday outlining what it described as the remaining steps needed to put the agreement fully into effect.
ROADMAP REMAINS UNIMPLEMENTED
The proposed roadmap had not been implemented as of Sunday, with Hamas and Israel continuing to disagree over the sequence of disarmament, an end to military operations and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Hamas has said it will place its weapons in storage only after Israel stops its military campaign and withdraws its forces in accordance with last year’s agreement.
An Israeli official told Reuters that Israeli forces would not leave their current positions unless Hamas completed “genuine disarmament.”
Cohen told Army Radio that he did not expect Hamas to surrender its weapons. He said he believed the group would instead attempt to delay the process, conceal weapons and avoid meaningful disarmament.
Netanyahu had not publicly addressed the initiative. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rejected the plan as unacceptable and said Israel should continue assassinating Hamas leaders.
Mohammed Dahlan, a former senior Fatah official who is based in the United Arab Emirates, said in a Facebook post that Jared Kushner had told him he was working with Israeli officials to stop the attacks on Gaza. Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is serving as a senior adviser involved in the U.S.-supported initiative.
Dahlan said discussions with the United States were continuing in an effort to secure complete implementation of the agreement. He said the initiative’s success now depended on Israel bringing its daily attacks on Gaza to a full end.
Reuters requested comment from the U.S. State Department regarding Dahlan’s account. Israel did not immediately respond.
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