An Israeli airstrike resulted in the deaths of four Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, as confirmed by local health authorities. The incident occurred near the Darraj neighborhood in Gaza City, specifically on Jaffa Street. In response, Israeli military forces in the same region carried out the strike, targeting and eliminating members of a Palestinian militant cell who were deemed an immediate threat to the troops.

The ongoing fragility of the ceasefire has been marred by recent violence, with both Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel accusing each other of violating the ceasefire agreement reached in October. Since the ceasefire began, the Gaza Health Ministry reports that Israeli actions have led to the deaths of at least 700 individuals, while Israel claims that four soldiers have been killed by Gaza militants during the same timeframe.

Addressing the situation, a Hamas delegation engaged with Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators in Cairo recently to discuss a disarmament proposal. Hamas has insisted that any talks about relinquishing arms must be contingent on Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza, as outlined in a disarmament plan associated with U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace. The issue of Hamas disarming remains a key point of contention in the efforts to implement Trump’s plan for Gaza and solidify the ceasefire.

Notably, Israeli records indicate that Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulted in the deaths of 1,200 individuals. In response, Israel’s subsequent two-year military campaign led to the deaths of over 72,000 Palestinians, predominantly civilians, according to Gaza health authorities. The campaign also caused widespread destruction, famine, and displacement of the majority of the territory’s population multiple times.