Israeli military operations across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday killed at least 10 Palestinians, including a senior police commander and a child, according to Palestinian health and police officials. The deadliest incident was an airstrike on a police post in the Jabalia refugee camp that killed Colonel Mohammed Marwan Salem, head of the camp’s police force, along with at least six other people, including a woman. In Rafah, in the south, a 10-year-old boy, Muataz Abu Shaar, died from Israeli gunfire. Additional strikes in Khan Younis and Gaza City brought the day’s toll to at least 10, with several others wounded, medics said.

The Israeli military stated that it had targeted Salem, whom it described as the head of Hamas’ central Jabalia battalion, and three other militants who were planning attacks. The strike, it said, was carried out “to remove the threat.” Gaza’s Hamas-led interior ministry identified Salem as a police colonel and said he was killed while on duty at a police post. Palestinian officials and witnesses said the post was located in an area crowded with tents for displaced civilians. Hamas has accused Israel of systematically targeting police and security personnel since the October 2025 ceasefire began, with police sources reporting dozens of officers killed. Israeli officials maintain that Hamas must disarm and relinquish control of Gaza, while Hamas has signalled readiness to cede governance but not its weapons.

The violence highlights the fragility of the truce that took effect in October 2025. According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed and over 3,500 wounded in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire began, while four Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants in the same period. The continued bloodshed complicates diplomatic efforts in Cairo, where Hamas leaders are discussing the second phase of a peace plan promoted by US President Donald Trump. Sources close to the talks, cited by regional media, say the negotiations cover Hamas disarmament and Israeli military withdrawals, but little progress has been reported. Hamas officials, as conveyed by Egyptian mediators, argue that Israeli ceasefire violations are the main obstacle to advancing the agreement.

Viewed from Washington, the administration’s peace plan faces mounting challenges as violence persists. In a parallel development, Israel’s security cabinet approved a budget of 1.3 billion shekels ($434 million) to establish 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move that Palestinian representatives and several European governments have condemned as detrimental to a two-state solution. The Gaza death toll since October 2023 now exceeds 73,000, according to the local health ministry. With talks in Cairo continuing, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are expected to press both sides for concessions, but no breakthrough appears imminent. The next round of discussions is scheduled to resume in the coming days, though the atmosphere remains clouded by the latest casualties.