Israeli airstrikes killed at least 12 Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, including four people at a tent encampment sheltering displaced families in the north, in attacks that threatened to destabilize a fragile ceasefire agreement just days before the inaugural meeting of the U.S.-backed Board of Peace.
An Israeli airstrike struck a tent camp for displaced families west of Jabalia in northern Gaza, killing at least four people, according to official Palestinian news agency Wafa. A separate strike killed five Palestinians in Khan Younis in the south, health officials said. At least one additional person was killed by gunfire in northern Gaza. An Israeli military official said the aerial assault was conducted “in response to Hamas’s blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement” after militants emerged from a tunnel east of the yellow line in the Beit Hanoun area. “Crossing the yellow line in the vicinity of Israeli troops, while armed, is an explicit ceasefire violation, and demonstrates how Hamas systematically violates the ceasefire agreement with intent to harm troops,” the official said. The Israeli military described the strikes as “precise” and said they were conducted in accordance with international law.
Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesperson, accused Israel of committing a new “massacre” against displaced Palestinian families, calling Sunday’s strikes a serious breach of the agreement reached under U.S. President Donald Trump’s brokerage.
The exchange of accusations reflected a pattern of near-daily confrontation that has persisted since the ceasefire entered into force on October 10. Gaza’s Government Media Office said Israel had violated the ceasefire at least 1,620 times between October 10 and February 10, through bombings, artillery shelling, direct shootings, and raids into civilian areas beyond the yellow line. The office documented 560 incidents of Israeli forces firing on civilians, 749 bombardments, 79 armed incursions into designated civilian zones, and 232 episodes of property destruction.
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The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire began. Israel says four of its soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza during the same period. The ceasefire’s yellow line divides territory under Israeli military deployment, covering approximately 53 percent of the eastern Gaza Strip, from western zones where Palestinian movement is permitted.
Sunday’s strikes came as preparations advanced for the first meeting of the Board of Peace, a body established by U.S. President Donald Trump with a mandate from the United Nations Security Council to oversee the implementation of the ceasefire’s second phase, including the deployment of an international force, the disarmament of Hamas, and the formation of a new technocratic Palestinian government. The board’s inaugural session is scheduled for February 19 in Washington.
Indonesia, a Board of Peace member, announced last week that it would deploy 8,000 soldiers to Gaza as part of the second phase. The scale and timeline of that deployment, alongside the mechanism for Hamas disarmament, remain subjects of negotiation.
The ceasefire deal’s first phase produced several concrete outcomes. On October 13, Hamas released all 20 remaining living Israeli captives in exchange for 250 Palestinians serving long prison sentences and 1,700 Palestinians who had been held without charge since October 7, 2023. As part of the deal, Hamas is also expected to return the bodies of 28 Israeli captives in exchange for 360 Palestinian bodies held by Israel. The Rafah border crossing with Egypt has been partially reopened, though Palestinian accounts of Israeli inspections at the crossing described severe delays and mistreatment.
The broader conflict has been devastating. At least 72,061 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, 2023, including 20,179 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel killed approximately 1,200 people and resulted in 251 people being taken hostage.
Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Washington last week for meetings with Trump that addressed Iran’s nuclear program. Trump said no definitive agreement had been reached but confirmed that talks with Tehran would continue. Iran’s deputy foreign minister told the BBC that further diplomatic discussions had been scheduled for Geneva on Tuesday, a date confirmed by an unnamed U.S. official to Reuters.
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Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is for civilian energy and medical purposes. Netanyahu has sought U.S. support for an agreement that would halt uranium enrichment entirely and cut Tehran’s ballistic missile capability.
The United Nations has projected that rebuilding Gaza will cost approximately $70 billion. Only 43 percent of agreed humanitarian aid trucks had entered the territory since October 10, well below the 72,000 trucks allocated under the ceasefire framework, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.