Top News

Deadly Israeli Strikes in Gaza Cast Doubt on Ceasefire Progress After Kushner Visit/ TezzBuzz/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Israeli strikes killed at least 17 Palestinians across Gaza on Tuesday and Wednesday, raising new doubts about efforts to advance the ceasefire. The attacks came shortly after Jared Kushner reportedly urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reduce military operations in Gaza. Negotiations remain stalled over whether Hamas must disarm before Israel withdraws its troops from the territory.

Quick Look

• At least 10 people were killed in two Israeli strikes Wednesday.
• A Tuesday strike on a seaside cafe killed seven Palestinians.
• Israel said Wednesday’s strikes targeted Hamas militants and a commander.
• Gaza officials said eight police officers and a 13-year-old girl were killed at a Gaza City police station.
• Israeli troops reportedly crossed the ceasefire line near Khan Younis.
• Two people, including a Hamas police colonel, were detained.
• Kushner reportedly urged Netanyahu to reduce attacks during a Monday meeting.
• Israeli strikes have killed at least 1,273 people since the October ceasefire.
• Hamas says disarmament must be accompanied by an Israeli withdrawal.
• Netanyahu says Israel will not withdraw until Hamas completely disarms.

Deep Look

Israeli strikes deepen ceasefire uncertainty

Deadly Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday raised further doubts about whether renewed U.S. diplomacy can advance the territory’s fragile ceasefire.

At least 10 people were killed in two strikes, according to local hospitals and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The attacks came two days after U.S. negotiators reportedly asked Israel to reduce its military operations in Gaza.

Israeli troops also crossed the ceasefire line in southern Gaza early Wednesday and detained a Hamas police colonel, according to two witnesses and a Hamas official.

Israel says Hamas targets were struck

Israel’s military said one strike near the Nuseirat refugee camp targeted a Hamas commander who participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.

That assault killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and resulted in the abduction of 251 others.

The Israeli military said a second strike in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood targeted four Hamas militants gathered inside a police station. It alleged they were planning attacks against Israeli troops.

Israel also said a strike Tuesday targeted a meeting involving four Hamas commanders and additional militants.

The military identified the commanders killed as Muhammad Hamdi Ahmad Al-Masri, Muhammad Attar, Muhammad Fathi Hussein Nasser and Samed Samir Harb Abu Habal.

Israel accused the men of carrying out attacks against its forces. It said Abu Habal had infiltrated Israeli territory during the Oct. 7 attack.

Gaza officials report police and child killed

The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said the Wednesday strike on the Gaza City police station killed eight police officers and a 13-year-old girl.

Two of the officers were women, according to the ministry.

One person was killed in the Nuseirat strike.

On Tuesday evening, an Israeli attack on a busy seaside cafe killed seven Palestinians, including a child, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The strikes across Tuesday and Wednesday killed at least 17 people.

Attacks follow Kushner’s Netanyahu meeting

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a U.S. negotiator, held a marathon meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

Kushner asked Netanyahu to reduce Israeli attacks on Gaza, according to a person familiar with the closed-door meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The renewed violence has raised questions about whether Israel intends to limit operations while U.S.-backed negotiations continue.

Israeli troops reportedly cross ceasefire line

At least 15 Israeli soldiers entered the Muwasi coastal area west of Khan Younis early Wednesday, according to two residents and a Hamas official.

The troops, accompanied by armed men, reportedly raided the tent of Sabri Abdel-All, a colonel in the Hamas-led Blue Police in Khan Younis.

They also detained another resident identified as Nashat Ezzat Zaarab.

The witnesses and Hamas official spoke anonymously because of safety concerns.

Gaza death toll continues to rise

The October ceasefire has significantly reduced the intensity of fighting in Gaza, where more than 2 million Palestinians live.

However, Israeli strikes have killed at least 1,273 people since the ceasefire took effect, according to Gaza health officials.

The nearly three-year war has killed more than 73,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The ministry, formerly part of the Hamas-run government, maintains casualty records considered generally reliable by United Nations agencies and international organizations.

It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says women and children constitute approximately half of those killed.

Israel opens two criminal investigations

Israel’s military announced Wednesday that it had completed reviews of 150 incidents involving troop conduct during the Gaza war.

It said criminal investigations would be launched into the 2024 killings of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and her family and the 2025 killings of 15 Palestinian paramedics.

The announcement coincided with the latest military operations and strikes in Gaza.

Disarmament and withdrawal remain sticking points

Diplomatic negotiations appear stalled despite recent U.S. efforts.

Trump’s initial ceasefire framework proposed ending Hamas’ rule and rebuilding Gaza, much of which has been devastated during the war.

But disagreements have persisted over Hamas’ disarmament, Israel’s military withdrawal and which step must occur first.

Trump said earlier this month that Hamas had agreed to disarm. Hamas said it would begin surrendering weapons if Israel stopped its strikes and withdrew its forces.

The group said it would relinquish its heavy weapons later, contingent on the creation of a Palestinian state—an outcome rejected by Israel’s government.

Netanyahu has maintained that Israel will not withdraw from its current positions in Gaza until Hamas has completely disarmed.

Hamas accuses Board of Peace of shielding Israel

Following Wednesday’s strikes, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem criticized the U.S.-created Board of Peace, which Trump established to oversee the ceasefire.

Qassem said the organization had provided a “cover” for Israel to escalate attacks instead of pressuring it to comply with the ceasefire agreement.

The renewed violence and absence of firm diplomatic commitments leave the future of the ceasefire uncertain.

For more world news