Palestinian territories Attacks in Gaza resume - talks with Hamas planned
According to Israel's army, a Hamas commander, who was also working as a doctor in a clinic, was killed in an attack in the Gaza Strip despite the ceasefire in place.
01.06.2026, 18:29
SDA
The man had already been hit on Saturday in a "precise strike" in the central section of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military announced in the afternoon. He was a company commander in Hamas' military wing and had carried out attacks on Israel, among other things. He also worked in a clinic in the city of Deir al-Balah.
Employees of the hospital named Al-Jafa confirmed the death of the doctor in an Israeli attack, but denied that he had any links to Hamas. The man was the head of the hospital's anesthesia department. So far, Hamas has not confirmed that he was a member of the terrorist organization. According to medical circles in the Gaza Strip, he was killed in an Israeli drone attack in Deir al-Balah.
The Palestinian news agency also reported one person killed in an Israeli airstrike in the afternoon in Bureij in the center of the coastal strip. Israel's army did not initially comment on the report when asked.
Hamas rejects disarmament - new talks from Thursday
According to media reports, new talks are to be held with Hamas in Egypt on Thursday in order to achieve their disarmament as part of the Gaza peace plan promoted by the USA. The Islamist organization has so far rejected this.
The Times of Israel reported, citing two Arab diplomats involved in the process, that the peace council founded by US President Donald Trump is currently considering alternatives due to the stalemate in the matter. It is possible, for example, to start reconstruction in the area of the Gaza Strip controlled by Israel's army and then motivate the Palestinians - who currently all live in a part where Hamas has reasserted its power - to move.
Many people in the Gaza Strip are still living in tents. However, the paper conceded that it is unclear whether the Gaza population is willing to live under Israeli occupation and whether Hamas will allow people to move to Israeli-controlled territory.
Disarmament planned before reconstruction
The High Representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, recently said that reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which had been largely destroyed in the war, would not be possible without disarming Hamas. The Bulgarian and former UN Middle East envoy serves as a link between the Peace Council and the Palestinian Interim Administration of the Gaza Strip. It is also unacceptable for armed factions to exist side by side with the new interim administration.
The second phase of the Gaza peace plan actually envisages the disarmament of Hamas and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops before the destroyed locations in the Palestinian territory are rebuilt.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that Israel wanted to expand its military control over the Gaza Strip from the current 60 percent of the territory to 70 percent. When the US-brokered ceasefire came into force in October 2025, the area under Israeli control was still 53 percent.
