Israeli forces kill six in Gaza amid efforts to salvage truce

Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least six Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, as mediators intensified efforts to salvage a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Health officials reported that an Israeli airstrike near Al-Yeman Al-Saeed Hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp killed at least four people. Two additional individuals were killed in separate shooting incidents in Khan Younis in the south and Gaza City.

The Israeli military had not immediately commented on the specific incidents. The violence occurred as mediators Egypt, Qatar, and Turkiye concluded a week of talks with Hamas and other Palestinian factions. These discussions focused on implementing the second phase of a plan brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, which reportedly involves Hamas disarming and Israel withdrawing its forces.

An October 2025 truce, also brokered by Trump, has thus far failed to halt Israeli attacks in Gaza or secure the disarmament of Hamas fighters. Health officials state that over 950 people have been killed in Gaza by Israeli strikes since that truce began. Hamas attributes the lack of a full agreement to end the conflict to Israel's refusal to meet first-phase obligations, which halted major fighting but not Israeli attacks.

Israel maintains its strikes are aimed at thwarting imminent attacks by Hamas and other fighters. On Sunday, Hamas and other factions announced they had provided a written response to a 15-point blueprint from the mediators and Trump's Board of Peace, though details were not disclosed. Sources close to the talks indicated that the factions agreed to 14 of the 15 points, with disagreement persisting over Hamas's disarmament. Hamas links any full disarmament to the initiation of a political track toward a Palestinian state, while Israel insists on Hamas disarming and relinquishing power in Gaza.

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The factions agreed to 14 out of the 15 items. Disagreement remains over the disarmament of Hamas, which links any full disarmament to launching a political track toward a Palestinian state.