Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 18 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, marking the biggest daily death toll in weeks. The military escalation occurred despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a breakthrough in implementing last year’s ceasefire agreement, which included an assertion that Hamas and other armed groups had agreed to disarm.
Ceasefire Implementation and Disarmament Debates
President Trump’s Board of Peace published a 15-point roadmap on Friday outlining the final steps for implementing the ceasefire agreement. Nickolay Mladenov, the board’s lead envoy for Gaza, stated on X that the strikes occurred despite ongoing efforts by mediators to secure factional agreement on the roadmap. According to Mladenov, he is actively working with regional partners to de-escalate tensions and create space for full implementation of the plan.
Israeli officials expressed strong reservations regarding the disarmament timeline. Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen told Israel’s Army Radio that he remained very skeptical about Hamas disarming and noted that there was no existing deal to halt attacks on Gaza. Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, told Reuters that Israel’s primary concern is that no further steps can proceed before Hamas completely and truly disarms.
Casualties and Airstrike Targets Across Gaza
From dawn, Israeli warplanes struck multiple locations, including Gaza City in the north, Deir al-Balah in the central region, and Khan Younis in the south. In Deir al-Balah, strikes killed at least four people, according to Palestinian health officials, while a separate attack in Mawasi near Khan Younis wounded five people and set tents ablaze. Palestinian officials reported that a couple and their nine-year-old son died in a strike on a house in Mawasi. Additional strikes in Gaza City killed a couple and their child in an apartment, two people near the Egyptian representative mission’s office, and three people in a car near Saraya Square, according to medics. In the eastern Zeitoun neighborhood, two more individuals were killed, and one person died near Jabalia in northern Gaza.
The Israeli military stated that the apartment strike in Deir al-Balah targeted two commanders of Hamas’ elite Nukhba force, while operations in Gaza City and Jabalia targeted military operatives, though the military noted it was still reviewing the situation.
According to Gaza health authorities, at least 1,230 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the October ceasefire, while Israeli tallies report four soldiers killed over the same period. Hamas does not disclose figures on its war dead.
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