Gaza, Palestine. Israeli airstrikes continued across the Gaza Strip for a second consecutive day on Sunday, killing at least nine Palestinians, Palestinian health officials said.
The strikes came despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year’s Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Strikes across the enclave
Palestinian health officials said Israeli warplanes carried out separate strikes in Gaza City in the north, Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Younis in the south.
A man and his wife were killed and four others were wounded when an apartment in Deir al-Balah was struck, medics said. Two people, including a child, were killed in a strike on an apartment in Gaza City.
In the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, a father, mother and their nine-year-old son were killed around dawn when a house was struck. Another person was killed near Jabalia in northern Gaza.
Israeli military statement
The Israeli military said the strikes in Deir al-Balah targeted two commanders from Hamas’ elite “Nukhba” force.
It said the strikes in Gaza City and Jabalia targeted “military operatives”, adding that it was still reviewing the situation.
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said there was no agreement to halt attacks on Gaza and that Israel, which he said already controls 70 per cent of the Strip, should take full control of it.
Cohen is a member of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s security cabinet, which oversees security and diplomatic policy.
Ceasefire implementation
At least 1,230 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since a ceasefire was reached in October.
Trump said on Thursday that a breakthrough had been achieved after Hamas agreed to disarm under a U.S.-backed initiative to implement the ceasefire agreement reached last year in Egypt.
Trump’s Board of Peace, the U.S.-led body overseeing the ceasefire, published a 15-point roadmap on Friday outlining the final steps for implementing the agreement.
