Israeli Strikes Kill Three in Gaza as Mediators Push for Ceasefire Progress
Renewed Violence and Diplomatic Efforts in Gaza
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ahmed Shalaby
Israeli Strikes and Civilian Impact
CAIRO, June 11 (Reuters) - Israeli strikes killed three people in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, health officials said, as mediators struggled to make progress in renewed efforts to reinforce a fragile U.S.-brokered truce, sources close to the talks reported.
Details of the Strikes
Medics said an Israeli strike on a house in Moghrabi Street in Gaza City killed one person. The Israeli military told Reuters it struck a militant.
Two other Palestinians were killed in separate airstrikes in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.
Diplomatic Mediation and Truce Efforts
The violence came as mediators, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, held week-long talks with Hamas and other Palestinian factions on implementing the second phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, which would involve Hamas disarming and Israel withdrawing its forces.
Progress and Sticking Points in Talks
In a Thursday statement, senior Hamas official Hussam Badran said the talks had achieved "real progress" and called on mediators to compel Israel to stop truce violations. Badran didn't elaborate on the nature of the progress.
Hamas blames the absence of a full agreement to end the Gaza conflict on Israel’s refusal to fulfill first-phase obligations agreed in October, which halted major fighting but did not end Israeli attacks. Israel says its strikes are intended to thwart imminent attacks by Hamas and other militants.
Disarmament as a Major Obstacle
Two Egyptian sources said the current round of talks between the mediators and Palestinian factions ended inconclusively, with disarmament the main sticking point. Aside from that issue, factions, including Hamas, agreed on 14 points of a 15-point blueprint presented by Trump’s Board of Peace, the sources said.
A Palestinian official said demands to decommission Hamas’ arms and infrastructure emerged as a new "Israeli obstacle" on Wednesday, disrupting a positive atmosphere.
Hamas continues to link full disarmament to launching a political track toward a Palestinian state, two of the four sources said.
Casualties and Delays in Negotiations
Israeli strikes have killed more than 950 people since the truce, health officials say, while Israel says four soldiers have been killed by militants in that period.
Lack of progress delayed a planned Thursday meeting between Hamas and Nickolay Mladenov, Trump’s Board of Peace envoy for Gaza, the sources said.
Official Statements and Ongoing Discussions
In a written response to Reuters, a Board of Peace official said Mladenov remained in regular contact with the mediators and all relevant parties.
“Discussions are ongoing, and considerable work remains to be done. It is therefore too early to draw conclusions about the internal dialogue between the Palestinian factions in Cairo,” the official said, declining to elaborate.
"All weapons in Gaza need to be decommissioned; the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza should assume its responsibilities as a transitional authority; and Israel should withdraw to the perimeter in order to allow for the full reconstruction of Gaza,” the official added.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ahmed Shalaby, Editing by William Maclean)
