Israeli airstrikes across Gaza kill at least 18 as ceasefire hopes persist

At least 18 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on August 2, according to Palestinian health officials, marking a second consecutive day of heavy bombardment despite renewed diplomatic efforts to revive a ceasefire.

Palestinian medics said Israeli warplanes struck multiple locations from early morning, including Gaza City in the north, Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis. The attacks resulted in one of the highest daily death tolls in recent weeks, Reuters reports.

According to Palestinian health officials, at least four people were killed in strikes on Deir al-Balah. A separate attack in the Mawasi area near Khan Younis wounded five people and set several tents ablaze, emergency responders said.

Palestinian officials said a couple and their nine-year-old son were killed in a strike on a house in Mawasi. In Gaza City, another couple and their child were killed when an apartment was hit, while two more people died in a strike on a tent near the Egyptian representative mission. Later in the day, medics reported that two additional people were killed in the city's Zeitoun neighbourhood, while another fatality was reported near Jabalia in northern Gaza.

The Israeli military said a strike on an apartment in Deir al-Balah targeted two commanders of Hamas' elite Nukhba force. It added that the operations in Gaza City and Jabalia targeted "military operatives" and that it was reviewing the outcome of those strikes.

Later on August 2, Palestinian medics said an Israeli airstrike on a vehicle near Saraya Square in Gaza City killed at least three more Palestinians.

The latest violence came despite U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement on July 30 that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups had agreed to disarm, raising hopes of progress toward implementing a ceasefire agreement reached last year.

However, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet, said on August 2 that while Israel was prepared to give Hamas an opportunity to disarm, he remained "very sceptical" that the group would do so.

By Sabina Mammadli