Gaza: At least four killed in new strikes as ceasefire negotiations intensify

New Israeli airstrikes and shelling killed at least four people in the Gaza Strip on Monday, according to local health officials, as international mediators continued their efforts to preserve a US-backed ceasefire agreement. The violence comes at a crucial moment in diplomatic talks aimed at ending months of conflict in the Palestinian enclave.

According to Gaza medical services, a woman was killed in an airstrike in the city of Zawayda, in the central part of the territory. Another attack claimed the life of a person in the nearby Nuseirat refugee camp. Later that day, a strike targeting the roof of a building in Gaza City killed two more people: a doctor and his son.

The Israeli army stated that it had conducted separate operations against two Hamas members. According to the army, the individuals targeted were planning attacks against Israeli troops deployed in the Gaza Strip. However, the army did not provide further details about these operations.

These new clashes come as diplomatic negotiations continue in Cairo. Mediators are trying to salvage a peace plan brokered by the United States to end hostilities in the war-torn territory.

According to sources close to the discussions, the special envoy of the American president Donald Trump Nikolay Mladenov, the representative for Gaza, was due to arrive in the Egyptian capital to participate in the consultations. His visit comes the day after Hamas responded to a proposed fifteen-point settlement.

According to these sources, Hamas and other Palestinian factions have accepted most of the provisions of the plan presented by the mediators. However, the issue of disarming the Islamist movement remains a major point of contention, further complicating efforts to reach a final agreement.

Since the ceasefire agreement reached in October, Gaza officials say Israeli strikes have killed more than 990 people in the enclave. Despite ongoing talks, the continued violence illustrates the fragility of the situation and the remaining obstacles to establishing a lasting peace.