Israeli forces kill six in Gaza amid efforts to salvage truce

CAIRO: Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least six Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, health officials said, as mediators stepped up efforts to salvage the US-brokered ceasefire.

Medics said an Israeli air strike killed at least four people near Al-Yeman Al-Saeed Hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp, north of the enclave, while two others were killed in separate shooting incidents in Khan Younis, in the south, and Gaza City.

The Israeli military did not imme­diately comment on the incidents.

The violence came as mediators, Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye, wrapped up week-long talks with Hamas and other Palestinian factions on implementing the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, which would involve Hamas disarming and Israel withdrawing its forces.

Health officials say death toll in strikes since ‘ceasefire’ nears 1,000

An October 2025 truce brokered by Trump has failed to halt Israeli attacks in Gaza or to secure the disarmament of Hamas fighters.

Death toll

Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed more than 950 people since the truce, health officials say.

Hamas blames the absence of a full agreement to end the Gaza conflict on Israel’s refusal to fulfill first-phase obligations agreed in October, which halted major fighting but did not end Israeli attacks. Israel claims that its strikes are intended to thwart imminent atta­cks by Hamas and other fighters.

On Sunday, Hamas and other factions said they had given a written response to a 15-point blueprint presented to them by the mediators and Trump’s Board of Peace, but did not provide details of their response.

Sources close to the talks said the factions agreed to 14 out of the 15 items. Disagreement remains over the disarmament of Hamas, which links any full disarmament to launching a political track toward a Pales­tinian state. Israel insists Hamas must disarm, cede power in Gaza and play no role in the future of the enclave.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2026