Israeli Airstrike Kills Six Palestinians in Gaza as Trump Peace Plan Stalls

An Israeli airstrike in Gaza City killed at least six Palestinians and wounded 14 others on Tuesday, according to Gaza health officials, as efforts to advance U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan remained stalled.

Gaza medics said an Israeli aircraft fired two missiles at a small cafe inside the fishing harbour in western Gaza City. The seaport has become a major displacement camp for Palestinian families since the Gaza war began in October 2023.

The Israeli military said the Gaza airstrike targeted Hamas commanders and other militants who were allegedly planning attacks against Israeli troops. It added that one person targeted had participated in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The military did not provide evidence supporting its claims.

Hamas accused Israel of attempting to undermine Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war and said a child was among those killed. The group did not confirm whether Hamas commanders or other militants died in the strike.

The attack came a day after Trump’s son-in-law and envoy Jared Kushner left Jerusalem following talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kushner had also met mediators and Hamas leaders in Egypt to discuss implementing Trump’s Gaza roadmap, but the meetings produced no major breakthrough.

An official from Trump’s Board of Peace said Israel retained its right to self-defence and would not redeploy its military until Hamas disarmed. An Israeli official similarly said Netanyahu maintained that Israeli forces would continue operations in Gaza without withdrawing.

Trump previously announced that Hamas had accepted a roadmap calling for the phased decommissioning of its weapons alongside an Israeli military withdrawal. Netanyahu, however, has insisted Hamas must be completely disarmed before Israeli troops leave Gaza.

Hamas continues to demand that Israel comply with the ceasefire and withdraw its forces, leaving the two sides divided over the sequence of the peace plan.

Since the October ceasefire, more than 1,200 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza, according to Gaza health authorities and the Israeli military.