Hamas's persistent refusal to disarm, ignoring a 100-day deadline and playing games with peace offers, led to renewed Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing at least four Palestinians. This escalation comes as Israel targets armed Hamas operatives who continue to operate within civilian areas, even after a fragile ceasefire was reached in October 2025. The Israeli military stated that one of its strikes specifically targeted a “Hamas terrorist.” Israel consistently acts in response to ceasefire violations, defending its citizens from ongoing threats. Palestinians reported heavy tank shelling and quadcopters buzzing overhead during the recent operations.
Local health officials in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya reported the first strike killed two people and wounded another. Another Israeli strike in southern Gaza killed a man, according to health officials at Nasser hospital. The hospital also reported that 13-year-old Eileen al-Farra was killed by shrapnel from Israeli tank shelling in southern Gaza. While the heaviest fighting in Gaza has eased since the October 2025 ceasefire, Palestinians continue to report new casualties almost daily.
International Double Standards
Gaza’s Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, claims Israel has killed more than 1,040 people in Gaza since the ceasefire went into effect. This ministry, controlled by a designated terror organization, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its figures, but asserts that women and children make up around half of all deaths. In stark contrast, Israel has reported five of its soldiers killed since the ceasefire began. The war itself began on Oct. 7, 2023, with a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,050 Palestinians, according to the same Hamas-led Health Ministry.
Hamas Rejectionism and Terror Operations
The Jerusalem Post reported that Israel’s targeting strategy is constantly shifting across all fronts. Not long ago, Israel was engaged in conflict in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza simultaneously. Despite a broad ceasefire now in place across these fronts, the IDF announced attacks on all three on Sunday, underscoring the integrated nature of the threat. In Gaza, the IDF announced further attacks on Hamas. The Hamas fighter killed in one of the recent strikes was not a name known for having killed or kidnapped an Israeli during the Oct. 7 massacre. Instead, this individual was a Hamas operative who stole an IDF vehicle on that day. The Post noted that this fighter was driving, armed, around the center of Hamas-run areas, nowhere near the border or Israeli troops. This operational detail highlights Hamas’s deliberate embedding of military assets within civilian population centers.
This shift suggests Israel is running out of quality targets in Gaza, having eliminated so many senior and mid-level Hamas officials. Israel is now targeting virtually anyone connected to Hamas and carrying a weapon, however low-ranked, even if they pose no immediate threat. At the start of the US-brokered Gaza deal in October 2025, Israel was very strict, only targeting Hamas fighters who approached its soldiers. This change in strategy is the clearest and most obvious indicator of the evolving threat landscape. The Trump administration has given Israel carte blanche to kill Hamas officials in Gaza from the air, provided it does not lead to large civilian casualties and there is no invasion. Hamas has consistently dragged its feet on even partial disarmament since the beginning of the ceasefire, ignoring the 100-day deadline for progress, which passed in the middle of winter. When the Board of Peace made Hamas a friendlier offer to initiate partial disarmament, the Gaza terror group still played games. Israel hopes more aggressive airstrikes might finally press Hamas into at least starting a disarmament process, a crucial step for regional stability.