Israeli strikes kill eight in Gaza as ceasefire talks stall

Israeli strikes killed at least eight Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, including people in places meant for safety and survival: a tent encampment in Khan Younis, a police post area, and a community kitchen near Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah. As ceasefire efforts between Israel and Hamas faltered, the day’s deaths showed how little room remained for civilians, aid sites and the food infrastructure that keeps Gaza’s population alive.

Gaza medics said at least three people were killed in the strike near the community kitchen in Deir al-Balah. The Israeli military said that attack targeted a Hamas commander it accused of developing anti-tank missiles. Even so, the strike landed near a place where people had gathered around food, sharpening concern that community kitchens, already under immense strain, are becoming increasingly exposed as the war grinds on.

Other deaths reflected the spread of violence across the Strip. One Palestinian was killed near a police post, another at a tent encampment in Khan Younis, and Gaza medical officials said one person was killed in a shooting incident in Khan Younis while two more died in an airstrike near a bakery in Deir al-Balah. The Israeli military said the Khan Younis strike killed a militant it described as posing an immediate threat to forces in the area.

The attacks came as Israel and Hamas remained deadlocked in indirect talks over Donald Trump’s post-war Gaza plan, which envisions Hamas disarming in exchange for an Israeli troop withdrawal. Reuters-linked reporting said about 870 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes since the October 2025 ceasefire, while four Israeli soldiers had been killed by militants over the same period. Israel has stepped up attacks in Gaza in recent weeks after halting joint bombing with the United States in Iran, while Hamas has tightened its grip in Gaza as Israeli troops remain in control of more than half the territory.

Israel’s military also said on Saturday that it killed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the head of Hamas’ armed wing in Gaza, in a strike on Gaza City on Friday, and Hamas confirmed his death. It said separately that Bahaa Baroud, a Hamas Operations Headquarters commander, was killed in Gaza City on Saturday. Hamas did not immediately announce revenge after Haddad’s killing, but the cumulative toll has kept ceasefire pressure high and international scrutiny on every strike that lands near civilians, shelters and the food networks Gaza residents now depend on.