Trump Hails Gaza Deal as 1,230 Killed Since October
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- Trump declared a "major milestone" Thursday on a Gaza disarmament deal, but Israel killed 18 Palestinians the following day in one of the deadliest days since the October ceasefire
- Gaza health authorities report at least 1,230 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes since the Trump-backed deal was agreed in October, with four Israeli soldiers also killed over the same period
- Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed Israeli forces now hold 60% to 70% of Gaza, expanded from the initial 53% under last year's ceasefire, with troops ordered to stay until Hamas disarms and tunnels are destroyed
- Hamas rejects the word "disarmament" but says it will hand over weapons to a U.S.-backed Palestinian administration if Israel halts operations and withdraws from areas seized since October
- Palestinian factions warned that the Board of Peace's statement focused exclusively on weaponry while omitting agreed-upon terms on ceasefire and a halt to targeting operations
- Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey jointly condemned the Israeli attacks as "a breach of the agreement" that undermines efforts to implement the second phase
- Board of Peace Gaza envoy Nikolay Mladenov met Netanyahu on Monday, with the board saying full Israeli withdrawal "will take place only once decommissioning is complete"
Why it matters: The three mediator countries — Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey — have formally declared Israeli strikes a breach of the agreement, raising the diplomatic cost of continued operations and threatening to pull the plug on talks. Hamas's conditional acceptance of a weapons handover (reframed as storage under a U.S.-backed body) and Palestinian factions' grievance that the Board of Peace stripped ceasefire language from its statement show the deal is already fraying in its text, not just on the ground.
