Israeli Strikes Kill 4 in Gaza as Trump Ceasefire Plan Stalls
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- Israeli airstrikes killed at least four Palestinians on Sunday in separate attacks on Gaza City and Deir al-Balah, including a man and his wife in a struck apartment and two people including a child in a Gaza City residential building, with four others injured.
- Trump's Board of Peace released a 15-point ceasefire roadmap on Friday outlining final implementation steps, but the plan has yet to take effect amid disputes between Israel and Hamas.
- Hamas has maintained it will only surrender weapons for storage and only after Israel halts military operations and withdraws forces per the original agreement's terms.
- Israel has signaled it will not pull back from current positions without what an Israeli official described to Reuters as Hamas' 'genuine disarmament,' creating a deadlock where neither side will act first.
- Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly commented on the US-backed initiative, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rejected it, saying Israel should continue targeting Hamas leaders rather than pursue the arrangement.
- Mohammed Dahlan, a former senior Fatah official based in the UAE, posted on Facebook that Jared Kushner told him discussions with Israel were underway to stop attacks on Gaza, though Reuters had not confirmed the claim from the State Department.
Why it matters: The deadlock is structurally unbreakable without one side conceding first: Hamas conditions weapon surrender on Israeli withdrawal, while Israel conditions withdrawal on what it calls Hamas' 'genuine disarmament.' With at least four Palestinians killed on Sunday alone and Netanyahu silent on the US-backed plan, the 15-point roadmap cannot advance while daily strikes continue killing civilians in Gaza City and Deir al-Balah.
