Israel Escalates Gaza Airstrikes Despite Trump’s Phased Disarmament Plan

The diplomatic momentum generated in Washington last week has collided with a violent reality on the ground in the Gaza Strip. While the Board of Peace and the International Stabilization Force announced that Hamas had accepted a detailed 15-point roadmap for implementing the next phase of the ceasefire, Israeli warplanes have intensified operations. Sunday’s bombardment delivered the largest daily death toll in weeks, according to Palestinian health officials.

Civilian Toll Climbs Across Gaza From Northern Refugee Camps to Southern Tents

The weekend strikes tore through residential apartments, family homes, and displacement tents across the enclave. In western Gaza City, an air raid on the Al-Sousi Tower killed Abdullah Abu Taif, 33, his pregnant wife Abeer Anan, 29, and their five-year-old son Azzam, medical sources at Al-Shifa Hospital confirmed. Further south, an apartment strike in al-Qarara near Khan Younis claimed the lives of Mahmoud Al-Hams, 38, his wife Fatima, 37, and their young daughter.

Medics at Nasser Hospital reported that three other individuals were wounded in that same strike. Additional attacks struck central Gaza near Deir el-Balah, where a couple and two brothers riding a motorbike were killed. Strikes also hit displacement tents in al-Mawasi and the Remal neighbourhood of Gaza City, along with a strike on a vehicle that left four dead in Gaza City, according to medics cited by Reuters.

On Saturday, an Israeli attack struck medicine warehouses attached to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah. Gaza Health Ministry Director-General Munir al-Bursh stated that destroying these supplies turns medicine and illness itself into a tool of war. The strike destroyed two facilities and severely damaged two others, triggering a fresh wave of displacement for families sheltering nearby.

Israeli Security Cabinet Expresses Deep Skepticism Over Disarmament Plan

While President Trump hailed Hamas agreeing to a phased disarmament as a monumental step towards security and stability, the Israeli government has signaled severe reservations. Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, told Israel’s Army Radio that there had been no deal to halt attacks on Gaza.

Israeli Strikes Kill Seven Across Gaza and Destroy Medical Warehouses

“I am very sceptical that would happen. Cohen told Israel’s Army Radio there had been no deal to halt attacks on Gaza and that he saw a need for Israel, which already controls 70% of the enclave, to take full control of it if Hamas did not disarm.”

Eli Cohen, Israeli Energy Minister

Cohen emphasized that dismantling Hamas remains the absolute prerequisite for any progress. Doron Spielman, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office, echoed those concerns when communicating with U.S. officials. Spielman stated that the most important concern for Israel is ensuring that nothing moves forward before Hamas completely and truly disarms.

Political Analysts Point to Domestic Pressures and Netanyahu’s Electoral Strategy

Behind the shifting diplomatic postures lie intense domestic political pressures in Israel. General elections are scheduled for October, leading experts to view the government’s stance through a political lens. Mtanes Shehadeh, an expert on Israeli affairs, noted that Netanyahu’s coalition is treating the Gaza understandings strictly as a tactical manoeuvre to avoid a direct public clash with Washington while maintaining military operations.

Israel seeks to continue the killing, starvation and siege in the Strip, and to obstruct any actual, practical progress in the second phase of the agreement, without explicitly announcing its rejection of the roadmap, Shehadeh explained.

Implementation Protocols Freeze

Meanwhile, Palestinian factions face an acute dilemma. Eyad al-Qarra, a political analyst in Gaza, warned that walking away from the table poses grave risks. Otherwise, it is feared that the price would be even higher, as Israel would exploit this to launch an even wider war on Gaza, al-Qarra Aljazeera. With July recording 152 Palestinian deaths—making it the deadliest month since a US-brokered ceasefire was agreed in October, according to figures cited by Bloomberg—the humanitarian crisis continues to deepen while the diplomatic framework hangs in the balance.