Ceasefire Shattered: Gaza Strikes Kill 25 as UN-Backed Trump Plan Raises Stakes for Peace 

In a significant escalation that threatens a fragile five-week ceasefire, Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 25 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, marking one of the deadliest days since the truce began.

The Israeli military stated the operation was in response to gunmen firing on its soldiers in Khan Younis, which it called a ceasefire violation, and that it targeted Hamas commanders. The violence erupts directly after a controversial UN Security Council resolution endorsed a Trump-backed peace plan that mandates the disarmament of Hamas, a condition the group has rejected, setting the stage for a dangerous new confrontation over this imposed international framework and pushing Gaza’s vulnerable population, already grappling with massive destruction and a public health crisis, back to the brink of full-scale war.

Ceasefire Shattered: Gaza Strikes Kill 25 as UN-Backed Trump Plan Raises Stakes for Peace 

The fragile silence over Gaza was broken by the familiar, terrifying sounds of war. Just after sunset on Wednesday, Israeli air, drone, and artillery strikes pounded locations across the Gaza Strip, from the northern neighborhoods of Gaza City to the southern urban expanse of Khan Younis. According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, the assault left at least 25 Palestinians dead, marking one of the deadliest single days since a tentative ceasefire took hold five weeks ago. 

The violence did not erupt in a vacuum. It exploded atop a powder keg of geopolitical tension, freshly primed by a landmark and deeply controversial UN Security Council resolution. This lethal flare-up threatens to unravel not just a shaky truce but a newly minted international framework for peace, testing the resolve of world powers and the desperate limits of a besieged population. 

A Night of Escalation: From Zeitoun to Khan Younis 

The casualties tell a story of widespread, simultaneous attacks. In the eastern Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, a strike on a building belonging to the Ministry of Religious Endowments collapsed structures and buried victims under rubble. Rescuers from the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency worked frantically, recovering bodies—including, as photos from the scene attested, those of three young children. Ten people were killed in that single strike. 

Elsewhere in Gaza City, the grim tally continued. A drone strike on a group of people at the Shejaiya junction claimed another life. A tank shell on a family home in the same area killed one more. The scene then shifted south, to Khan Younis, where 13 people were reported killed. Among them, three died in a strike on a group inside a sports club run by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees—a facility meant to be a sanctuary. 

The Israeli military’s justification was swift and pointed. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that “several terrorists opened fire toward the area where IDF soldiers are operating in Khan Younis,” an action it called a “violation of the ceasefire agreement.” In response, it said it began “striking Hamas terrorist targets across the Gaza Strip.” Israeli media, citing security sources, identified the targets as high-ranking Hamas military commanders, suggesting a deliberate, intelligence-driven operation. 

The Clash of Narratives: “Dangerous Escalation” vs. “Counter-Terrorism” 

In the immediate aftermath, the competing narratives hardened, reflecting the intractable positions that have long doomed peace efforts. 

Hamas issued a furious statement, denouncing a “dangerous escalation” and accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to “resume the genocide against our people.” They questioned the IDF’s account of being fired upon first, framing the attacks as unprovoked aggression. Crucially, they directed a plea not to Israel, but to the United States, urging it to “exert immediate pressure on Israel to enforce the ceasefire.” 

This appeal highlights Hamas’s understanding of the new political reality: Washington is not just a mediator but now the architect of the peace plan. A U.S. official, however, immediately backed the Israeli narrative, telling Reuters that Hamas was aiming to break the ceasefire and renege on its commitments. 

This stark divergence is more than just political posturing. It represents the core dilemma of the Gaza conflict: one side’s “terrorist” is the other’s “resistance fighter.” For Israel, dismantling Hamas’s military infrastructure is a non-negotiable security imperative. For Hamas and its supporters, relinquishing arms in the face of ongoing occupation and without the guarantee of a sovereign state is tantamount to surrender. 

The Shadow of the UN Resolution: A Trump-Backed Plan for Gaza 

The timing of this violence is inextricably linked to the seismic shift at the United Nations just two days prior. The Security Council passed a resolution endorsing a Gaza peace plan spearheaded by U.S. President Donald Trump. Hailed by Trump as “a moment of true historic proportion,” the plan proposes a radical overhaul of governance in Gaza. 

Its key elements are: 

• A Transitional Governance Body (The Board of Peace): Chaired by President Trump himself, this board would ostensibly oversee the transition to a new political reality. 

• An International Stabilisation Force (ISF): A multinational military force tasked with the primary objective of “demilitarizing the Gaza Strip.” 

For the Israeli government, this resolution represents a monumental diplomatic victory. It codifies into international law the principle that Hamas must be disarmed. Israel’s ambassador to the UN stressed that his country would “not stop or let up” until the threat from Hamas was eliminated. 

For Hamas, however, the resolution is a direct existential threat. It frames their struggle as illegitimate and demands they lay down their weapons without, in their view, addressing the root causes of the conflict. Their reiterated stance—”no surrender of weapons without a Palestinian state”—is a direct rebuke of the UN plan. 

Wednesday’s violence, therefore, can be seen as the first, violent negotiation over this new framework. It is Hamas demonstrating that it remains a potent force, capable of responding to what it sees as an imposed settlement. It is Israel demonstrating that, with the UN mandate now in hand, it will act decisively against any threat. 

The Human Dimension: A Population Trapped Between Rain and Rockets 

Beyond the geopolitics and the clashing statements lies the enduring human tragedy of Gaza. The territory is still reeling from the devastating two-year war that preceded the ceasefire. With at least 69,500 killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and vast swathes of the infrastructure destroyed, the population was clinging to the five weeks of calm. 

The plea from aid agencies now is increasingly desperate. As winter rains begin, concerns over disease and death in makeshift shelters are skyrocketing. The destruction of homes, hospitals, and sanitation systems has created a public health catastrophe in waiting. Each new strike not only claims immediate victims but pushes the possibility of recovery further out of reach. 

The images from al-Shifa hospital, where an injured Palestinian girl had her head bandaged, are a hauntingly familiar tableau. They represent a cycle of violence that the people of Gaza have endured for generations. Each escalation promises to be the last, but the ceasefire always feels temporary, a brief intermission before the next act of destruction. 

A Precarious Crossroads 

The strikes on Wednesday are more than a violation of a truce; they are a stress test for a new and contentious international order. The UN Security Council has placed a massive bet on a Trump-led plan that demands Hamas’s disarmament. Hamas has responded not at the negotiating table, but on the battlefield of Gaza, signaling it will not go quietly. 

The world now watches a dangerous game of chicken. Will the United States and the proposed International Stabilisation Force be able to pressure Hamas into compliance, or will further Israeli military action be deemed necessary? Can a political pathway be created that offers Palestinians a dignified future beyond the barrel of a gun? 

The shattered buildings in Zeitoun and the bodies in Khan Younis are a grim warning. Without a diplomatic solution that addresses the core aspirations and security fears of both sides, the UN’s historic resolution may not be the foundation for peace, but the blueprint for the next, even more devastating, war. The ceasefire is shattered, and the path forward is darker and more uncertain than ever.