RismadarVoice Reporters
August 2, 2026
At least 13 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Sunday, according to Palestinian health officials, as uncertainty deepened over efforts to implement a ceasefire agreement in the enclave.
The strikes, which continued for a second consecutive day, hit areas in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, with Palestinian officials describing the reported death toll as the highest daily figure in several weeks.
The attacks came days after United States President Donald Trump announced what he described as a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year’s Gaza ceasefire agreement, including a proposal for Hamas and other armed groups to disarm.
However, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, said on Sunday that there was no agreement to halt Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Speaking to Israel’s Army Radio, Cohen said the government would allow Hamas to disarm but expressed scepticism that the group would do so.
He said Israel’s position was that Hamas must be dismantled and suggested that Israel could take full control of Gaza if the group refused to disarm. Israel currently controls large areas of the enclave.
Palestinian health officials said at least four people were killed in strikes on Deir al-Balah, while a separate attack in Mawasi, near Khan Younis, wounded five people and set several tents on fire, according to the civil emergency service.
A couple and their nine-year-old son were also reportedly killed when a house in Mawasi was struck.
In Gaza City, another couple and their child were reportedly killed in a strike on an apartment, while two other people died after a tent near the office of the Egyptian representative mission was hit, according to medics.
Another person was reportedly killed near Jabalia in northern Gaza.
The Israeli military said its strike on an apartment in Deir al-Balah targeted two commanders of Hamas’ elite Nukhba force. It also said strikes in Gaza City and Jabalia targeted alleged military operatives, adding that assessments of the incidents were ongoing.
According to Gaza health authorities, at least 1,230 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the ceasefire reached in October. The authorities do not distinguish between combatants and civilians in their casualty figures.
Four Israeli soldiers have reportedly been killed during the same period, according to Israeli tallies.
Hamas demands Israeli withdrawal.
Hamas has maintained that Israel must end its attacks and withdraw its forces from Gaza before the group would agree to surrender its weapons to a proposed Palestinian body that would administer the territory.
A senior Hamas official, Basem Naim, said on Sunday that the group had shown “considerable flexibility” during negotiations, but accused Israel of escalating military operations in an attempt to create new realities on the ground.
The U.S.-led Board of Peace, which is overseeing the ceasefire process, released a 15-point roadmap on Friday outlining proposed steps for implementing the agreement.
Former senior Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan, who is based in the United Arab Emirates, also said that Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and a senior adviser involved in the initiative, was working with Israel to stop the attacks.
Dahlan said discussions with U.S. officials were continuing to secure full implementation of the agreement and that its success depended on Israel ending its attacks on Gaza.
There was no immediate response from Israel to Dahlan’s remarks, while Reuters said it had sought comment from the U.S. State Department.
