Israel kills eight in Gaza despite Trump’s Hamas disarmament plan
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- Israeli forces killed at least eight Palestinians in Gaza strikes on Sunday per the Palestinian Civil Defence, including a man and woman hit in a helicopter strike on an apartment south of Deir el-Balah, plus three in Khan Younis and one in Gaza City's Old City.
- Hamas conditioned any weapons handover on Israel first halting military operations and withdrawing from positions under last year's ceasefire agreement.
- An Israeli official told Reuters there would be no withdrawal from current positions unless Hamas undergoes "genuine disarmament," creating a deadlock with Hamas's stated precondition.
- National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir publicly called the US-backed initiative "unacceptable" and said Israel should continue targeting Hamas leaders.
- Former Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan said Jared Kushner told him he is working with Israel to halt Gaza attacks, with the agreement's success now dependent on Israel fully ending daily strikes.
- Israeli strikes destroyed a medical supply warehouse in central Gaza on Saturday, leaving a crater 20 metres wide and 10 metres deep, in a separate wave of attacks continuing through the ceasefire push.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly commented on the Board of Peace initiative.
Why it matters: The roadmap is deadlocked before implementation: Israel demands disarmament before withdrawal, Hamas demands withdrawal before disarmament — mutually exclusive preconditions that each new strike widens. With Netanyahu silent and Ben-Gvir openly rejecting the deal, the only visible diplomatic thread is Kushner's backchannel via Dahlan, and Palestinian civilians continue dying while it plays out.
