Israeli forces kill 8 in Gaza, toll now 18 since latest Trump peace plan

Israeli forces killed at least eight Palestinians in Gaza, including two children, pushing the death toll to eighteen in the span of three days following the announcement of a new peace plan by United States President Donald Trump, according to medical sources. The escalation unfolds against a volatile backdrop across the Middle East, connecting ongoing Gaza strikes with simultaneous military friction involving Iran, Lebanon, and international shipping lanes.

Sunday's casualties included three individuals killed in an air strike targeting a residential apartment within the Al-Sousi Tower in western Gaza City, identified by medical sources at Al-Shifa Hospital as Abdullah Abu Taif, his wife Abeer Anan, and their five-year-old son Azzam. A separate attack struck an apartment in Al-Qarara, northwest of Khan Younis, killing three members of the Al-Hams family—Mahmoud, his wife Fatima, and their young daughter—while wounding three others, per Nasser Hospital medics. In central Gaza, Kamu Abu Muailiq and his wife Huda were killed in a strike on their home near Deir Al-Balah.

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Overnight strikes also hit medicine warehouses attached to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah. Gaza Health Ministry Director-General Munir al-Bursh condemned the operation, stating that destroying vital supplies turns illness into a tool of war, while the ministry reported two facilities destroyed and two severely damaged. Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground observed a massive crater from a blast that struck just minutes after an evacuation order, damaging tents housing displaced families and sparking fresh displacement.

The latest fatalities follow a pattern of violence documented by local health authorities since an October 2025 ceasefire brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the US, which has seen more than 1,222 Palestinians killed and over 4,053 injured. Mohanad Mustafa, an academic and expert on Israeli affairs, told Al Jazeera that Israel approaches such agreements from a position of non-commitment, often using military operations to create irreversible facts on the ground before raising its demands.

The bloodshed in Gaza runs parallel to severe regional escalations involving Iran. President Trump announced he was canceling a planned large-scale military strike on Iran after stating that the perimeters of a deal had been agreed upon, subject to being rapidly finalized Live Updates: Trump calls off strikes on Iran subject to peace deal being "rapidly" reached. The potential US and Israeli bombing campaign against Iranian energy infrastructure had been under preparation amid heightened tensions, tanker explosions in the Strait of Hormuz, and intercepted drone attacks in Kuwait.

Iranian media rejected Trump's assertion that Tehran sought to avoid strikes, dismissing it as a "new lie," according to US Iran War Live Updates: 'New lie', Iran media rejects Trump's claim Tehran sought to avoid US strikes. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged Washington during a phone call to prioritize dialogue to prevent a wider conflict, while Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani similarly called for implementing diplomatic frameworks and ensuring freedom of navigation.

Simultaneous military actions have also persisted in southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire, where the Israeli military reported striking Hezbollah positions and conducting heavy detonations near the UNESCO-listed Beaufort Castle. Those operations drew condemnation from Lebanese leaders and the United Nations over the destruction of civilian infrastructure and cultural heritage, even as compounded anxieties across Gulf states and prompted Western embassies to advise citizens to consider departing the region.

Recent Casualties and Developments in Gaza

• Al-Sousi Tower, Gaza City: Three members of the Abu Taif family killed in an air strike on a residential apartment.
• Al-Qarara, Khan Younis: Three members of the Al-Hams family killed and three others wounded.
• Deir Al-Balah: Kamu Abu Muailiq and his wife Huda killed in a strike on their home; medicine warehouses attached to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital severely damaged.
• Cumulative Toll: Death toll reached 18 in the three days following the latest US peace plan announcement.

What happens next depends heavily on whether the tentative diplomatic frameworks concerning the Strait of Hormuz and regional ceasefires hold against ongoing military actions on the ground. Negotiators face mounting pressure from international mediators to translate preliminary understandings into permanent halts in hostilities across Gaza, Lebanon, and the broader Middle East.