Israel–Hamas War

During the U.S.-brokered cease-fire, Israel carried out an airstrike west of Gaza City that it says killed Ra’ad (Raed) Sa’ad — whom the IDF identified as the head of Hamas’s weapons production and a key veteran explosives commander — and Palestinian health officials and journalists reported four dead and three wounded; Hamas confirmed his death and named a successor. The IDF justified the strike as targeting operatives “actively engaged in terrorism,” while U.S. officials privately told Prime Minister Netanyahu the attack violated the truce and was not coordinated with Washington.

The UN‑backed, U.S.‑led 20‑point ceasefire plan is moving toward implementation, with phase two — which envisions an International Stabilization Force (ISF), a technocratic Gaza government overseen by a Board of Peace led by President Trump, Hamas disarmament and eventual Israeli withdrawal — still pending and contingent on steps such as the return of a hostage’s remains, while questions remain about force composition, command, partner commitments and shortfalls in aid deliveries. The U.S. plans to appoint a two‑star general to lead the ISF, roughly 100 U.S. troops are in Israel (not Gaza) as a small headquarters element to coordinate humanitarian aid and military deconfliction, and countries including Germany, Italy, Egypt, Turkey and others have expressed varying levels of interest but no final commitments have been announced.

An AP analysis of Israeli COGAT data finds Gaza received an average of 459 aid trucks per day from Oct. 12 to Dec. 7, well short of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire’s 600-per-day pledge. UN figures show only 6,545 trucks offloaded in that period (~113/day), while OCHA cites security, clearance, and routing obstacles; Israel says aid was temporarily halted over alleged Hamas violations, as both sides accuse each other of breaching ceasefire terms.