Israeli strikes kill 15 in Gaza over weekend, hours after Hamas accepts Trump's disarmament deal

Strikes continue despite US-brokered deal

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 15 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip over the weekend, even as a US-backed ceasefire and disarmament plan hung in the balance. On Saturday, Gaza officials and Al Jazeera reported seven people killed in strikes that also destroyed two medical warehouses near Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah; an AFP account put that day's toll at eight, which would raise the weekend total to 16. Overnight into Sunday, eight more died when warplanes and a helicopter hit residential buildings in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, and Khan Younis. Those set out by civil defence officials included a man and his wife in central Gaza, an elderly man and a child west of Gaza City, and three people including a child in Khan Younis. The incidents the agency detailed account for seven of the eight deaths.

Khalil al-Daqran, a doctor at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital who is also described as its spokesman, condemned the destruction of the medical stores.

The Israeli occupation has committed a heinous crime. In the middle of the night, (the military) targeted a warehouse containing medical supplies for the hospital, and the occupation completely destroyed it.

The Israeli military said it had struck Hamas weapons depots and dismantled five storage facilities, one of them next to the hospital and used as a hideout. It acknowledged one strike on a Hamas militant near a pharmacy in Gaza City. The Palestinian health ministry said two of the four medical warehouses were obliterated, the other two severely damaged, and the outpatient clinic building hit.

The Trump administration's roadmap

On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced a breakthrough after Hamas agreed to disarm under a US-backed initiative to implement the ceasefire agreement reached last year in Egypt. On Friday the Board of Peace published the full text of its roadmap, 15 points in four sections, setting out the final steps including Hamas handing over its weapons and a gradual Israeli withdrawal. Its second point requires the timetable and implementation mechanisms to be prepared within 14 days of approval by all parties, extendable by an International Verification Committee that is to certify that both sides meet their commitments. Weapons are to be decommissioned and stored under the authority of a national committee, and the text specifies that none shall be transferred or handed to Israel or to non-Palestinian parties. Hamas has said it will hand over weapons for storage only after Israel halts military operations and pulls out its forces in line with the earlier agreement.

Israel has not officially commented on the initiative. A political source told AFP "that there will be no withdrawal whatsoever" without Hamas's "genuine disarmament." An Israeli official told Reuters the military would not leave its current positions unless Hamas undergoes genuine disarmament. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the plan unacceptable and said Israel should continue assassinating Hamas leaders. Former senior Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan, based in the UAE, said in a Facebook post that Jared Kushner had told him he was working with the Israeli side to stop attacks on Gaza. Dahlan added that the deal's success now depended on Israel fully ending its daily attacks. He subsequently deleted the post, and officials distanced themselves from the claim.

Hospital and civilian infrastructure hit

The strike on the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital compound destroyed two warehouses storing essential medical supplies, including materials for kidney dialysis patients and wound care. AFP footage showed a huge crater and scattered medical supplies. Witnesses said the military had issued an evacuation warning before the strike. The Israeli military said the site was used by Hamas to store weapons, but did not disclose evidence. The Palestinian health ministry condemned what it called a "heinous crime" that had obliterated the warehouses and damaged the outpatient clinic.

Recovery of bodies in Sabra

Separately, Gaza's civil defence agency recovered the remains of 112 people from rubble in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City after 136 hours of digging, largely with bare hands. The remains included 40 children, 38 women, and seven people with physical disabilities. The International Committee of the Red Cross supported the operation.

Amani Al-Naouq, the ICRC spokesperson in Gaza, said families had waited years for such recoveries.

For more than two and a half years, thousands of families in Gaza have lived in pain and uncertainty, waiting for the chance to recover the remains of their loved ones, mourn them and lay them to rest with dignity.