Israeli Strikes Kill Nine Palestinians in Gaza

Israeli airstrikes killed at least nine Palestinians in Gaza on Aug. 2, as attacks continued for a second straight day, Al-Monitor reported.

The strikes came despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year’s Gaza ceasefire agreement. Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Sunday there was no deal to halt attacks on Gaza and said he saw a need for Israel, which the article said already controls 70% of the Strip, to take full control of it.

Palestinian health officials said Israeli warplanes carried out separate strikes in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. Medics said a man and his wife were killed and four people were wounded in Deir al-Balah, two people including a child were killed in Gaza City, a father, mother and their 9-year-old son were killed in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, and another person was killed near Jabalia.

The Israeli military said the Deir al-Balah strikes targeted two commanders of Hamas’ elite “Nukhba” force. It said the Gaza City and Jabalia strikes also targeted “military operatives,” and that it was still reviewing the situation. At least 1,230 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since a ceasefire was reached in October, according to the article.

Trump said Thursday there had been a breakthrough after Hamas agreed to disarm under a U.S.-backed initiative to implement the ceasefire reached last year in Egypt. Trump’s Board of Peace, the U.S.-led body overseeing the ceasefire, published a 15-point roadmap Friday, but it had not been implemented. Hamas said it would hand over weapons for storage only after Israel halts military operations and withdraws its forces, while an Israeli official told Reuters there would be no withdrawal unless Hamas undergoes “genuine disarmament.”

Netanyahu had not commented publicly on the initiative, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called it unacceptable and said Israel should continue assassinating Hamas leaders. Former senior Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan said Jared Kushner had told him he was working with the Israeli side to stop attacks on Gaza; Reuters said it had sought U.S. State Department comment, and there was no immediate comment from Israel.