Israel struck targets across Gaza in what it called a response to a “blatant violation” of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, as Washington moved to stand up a new “board of peace” to steer the next phase of a fragile plan for the war-battered territory.
The Israeli military said it hit “several terrorists, including commanders from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organisations across the Gaza Strip,” saying the operation answered an incident in western Rafah earlier this week in which “armed terrorists fired at IDF troops.” On Tuesday, the army said it identified six armed militants near its soldiers in Rafah; tanks opened fire and airstrikes followed. The military later announced it had killed six fighters.
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The Gaza civil defense agency and Hamas said the strikes killed at least seven people. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem accused Israel of a “new violation” of the truce, which took effect Oct. 10 and has entered a second phase under U.S. mediation. Each side has charged the other with breaching the agreement.
Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said Israeli forces have killed 451 people since the ceasefire ostensibly took hold. The claim could not be independently verified.
The latest exchanges underscored the volatility of a truce that is meant to open space for a political process the United States says is designed to end the fighting, return hostages and set conditions for a postwar administration in Gaza. The second phase of the plan began amid continued allegations of aid shortfalls and sporadic violence.
Amid the tensions, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the formation of what he called the Gaza “board of peace,” describing it as a central component of phase two of the American-backed plan. “It is my Great Honour to announce that THE BOARD OF PEACE has been formed,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that members will be named “shortly” and calling it “the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled at any time, any place.”
Trump said he will chair the body and that the committee overseeing implementation of the plan would work under its supervision. The plan also envisions deploying an International Stabilisation Force to help secure Gaza and train vetted Palestinian police units, according to officials backing the framework.
“The ball is now in the court of the mediators, the American guarantor and the international community to empower the committee,” Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas leader, said in a statement, urging rapid movement to consolidate the truce and address humanitarian needs.
Supporters of the U.S.-backed approach have billed it as a pathway to the release of all hostages held by Hamas and an end to active combat. But key issues remain unresolved. For many Palestinians, a full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza is the central demand; while withdrawal is included in the plan’s framework, no detailed timetable has been announced. Hamas, for its part, has not publicly committed to full disarmament, a step Israel has described as nonnegotiable.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, said in a Truth Social post that the United States expects Hamas to “comply fully with its obligations,” a message Trump amplified while praising what he called “unwaveringly committed” Palestinian leaders slated to be part of a transitional government he intends to select. Trump also said that with the support of Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, the United States would seek a “COMPREHENSIVE Demilitarisation Agreement with Hamas, including the surrender of ALL weapons, and the dismantling of EVERY tunnel.”
Inside the enclave, Hamas is preparing internal elections to rebuild its leadership, which has been decimated by Israeli strikes during the war. A Hamas leader said the vote is expected in the first months of 2026.
The dueling battlefield claims and Washington’s parallel political track highlight the fragile state of a ceasefire that is struggling to hold. As the second phase unfolds, the gap between the plan’s promises and the realities on the ground—security incidents, humanitarian shortages and unresolved political conditions—will determine whether momentum shifts toward a durable calm or back to renewed war.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
