Gaza Strikes Ceasefire Strain as Eight Killed

The Gaza strikes ceasefire strain deepened on Sunday as Israeli strikes killed at least eight Palestinians, including five police officers, in the Gaza Strip. Medics said three people were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City. The interior ministry said five police officers were killed in another strike in western Khan Yunis, in the south of the enclave.

The Israeli military insisted that it struck several militants in Khan Yunis. It did not immediately comment on the Gaza City strike. The two accounts differ on who was hit in Khan Yunis, with the interior ministry describing the dead as police officers and the military describing them as militants. That difference is central to the dispute over whether the strikes breached the ceasefire.

Gaza strikes ceasefire: the claims on both sides

Israel says Hamas has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of a year-old ceasefire, and that it has stepped up strikes on the group in recent weeks. Hamas has denied trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal. Hamas accuses Israel of undermining the Gaza peace deal. Both claims cannot be fully tested from the Dawn account alone, and neither side’s version should be read as a settled fact.

Last year’s United States-brokered ceasefire calls for eventual reconstruction of the territory. Little progress has been made, as negotiators have failed to agree terms for Hamas to disarm or for Israel to withdraw its troops. Israeli troops have ordered residents to leave about two-thirds of the territory. Nearly all of the more than two million residents live in the remaining third of the enclave among war ruins, mostly in makeshift tents and damaged buildings.

Israeli forces have killed at least 1,500 Palestinians in Gaza despite the ceasefire, according to Dawn. That figure, set against a ceasefire that is now a year old, explains why each new round of strikes is read as a test of the deal, not as an isolated incident. A ceasefire that still sees regular killing is a ceasefire in name, but not in daily life for residents.

Why the deal has stalled

The deadlock has two linked parts. The first is disarmament: negotiators have not agreed terms for Hamas to disarm. The second is withdrawal: they have not agreed terms for Israel to withdraw its troops. Until both are settled, reconstruction cannot move at scale, because builders, donors and displaced families need to know which areas are safe and who controls them.

The geography makes the stall harder. With residents ordered out of about two-thirds of the territory, the remaining third must hold more than two million people. Tents and damaged buildings are not a housing plan, and they leave families exposed to every new strike, even one described as limited to a single target. That is why a strike in Gaza City and a strike in Khan Yunis, on the same day, carry weight beyond their casualty counts.

What to watch next

The next test will be whether either side offers a concrete step on disarmament or withdrawal, or whether the pattern of strikes and denials continues. A further test will be whether mediators, led by the United States, press for a pause in strikes while talks continue, or whether the ceasefire is left to erode in stages. For now, Sunday’s deaths add to a toll that already stands at 1,500 despite the ceasefire, and they leave reconstruction as distant as it was when the deal was signed.

How many people were killed on Sunday in Gaza?

At least eight Palestinians were killed in two separate strikes: three in Gaza City and five police officers, according to the interior ministry, in western Khan Yunis.

What did the Israeli military say about Khan Yunis?

It insisted that it struck several militants in Khan Yunis, and it did not immediately comment on the Gaza City strike.

What does Hamas say?

Hamas has denied trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal, and accuses Israel of undermining the Gaza peace deal.

Why has reconstruction stalled?

Negotiators have failed to agree terms for Hamas to disarm or for Israel to withdraw its troops, so the eventual reconstruction called for by the ceasefire has made little progress.

How many Palestinians have been killed despite the ceasefire?

Israeli forces have killed at least 1,500 Palestinians in Gaza despite the ceasefire, according to Dawn.