Israeli Airstrikes Hit Gaza Amid Skepticism Over Ceasefire Breakthrough

Israeli air strikes hit Gaza for a second straight day on Sunday, killing at least 18 Palestinians, medical staff said, despite US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year’s ceasefire agreement.

From dawn, Israeli warplanes hit Gaza City in the north, the central city of Deir al-Balah and the southern area of Khan Younis, causing the biggest daily death toll in weeks, according to Palestinian health officials.

Trump’s assertion on Thursday that Palestinian Hamas militants and other armed groups had agreed to disarm had raised hopes of a turning point in efforts to end ‌the conflict.

On Sunday, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen – a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet – said the government would give Hamas the opportunity to disarm but that he was “very sceptical” that would happen.

Cohen told Israel’s Army Radio there had been no deal to halt attacks on Gaza and that he saw a need for Israel, which already controls 70 per cent of the enclave, to take full control of it if Hamas did not disarm.

“In the deal we signed with the United States, our stance is that Hamas must be dismantled. This is the first thing that must happen,” he added.