Egypt and Qatar, key mediators in talks between Israel and Hamas, condemned Israeli strikes on Gaza on Saturday that Palestinian health officials said killed at least 30 people, according to the Associated Press.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Newsweek in a statement that the military “struck commanders and terror infrastructure” after a “violation of the ceasefire agreement” on Friday.
Why It Matters
Months into the latest truce, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are still living in displacement camps, sheltering in tents and war-ravaged buildings. In October 2025, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire as part of President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan, after weeks of negotiations mediated largely by Egypt and Qatar.
The deal comes years after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, and took around 250 hostages, killing around 1,200. Israel’s ensuing air and ground campaign has killed more than 71,000 Palestinians, a number accepted by both the IDF and the Gaza Health Ministry.
The strikes come just ahead of the long-awaited reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt, a key route for Palestinians seeking to leave for medical care and other urgent needs, as well as a channel to bring significant aid in. The strikes also come after a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem this week.
What To Know
On Saturday, the IDF told Newsweek it struck affiliates of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Hospitals on the ground said several women and children were included in those killed, with the AP reporting at least 30 were killed. The strikes were some of the heaviest since the October deal.
Israel struck buildings throughout Gaza City including a police station, Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said, per the AP. Nasser Hospital said the strike on a tent camp in Khan Younis sparked a fire and subsequently killed seven.
In a statement after the Israeli strikes, Egypt, who has played a key mediation role in the fragile ceasefire, condemned the Israeli strikes in the “strongest terms” and said they are “a direct threat to the political course” of the ceasefire.
Qatar, another crucial mediator, also called out Israel’s strikes in a statement, stating: “The State of Qatar expresses its strong condemnation of the repeated Israeli violations of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip… in a dangerous escalation that will inflame the situation and undermine regional and international efforts aimed at consolidating the truce,” the Times of Israel reported.
Both Egypt and Qatar were invited to join Trump’s newly formed “Board of Peace.” Trump has positioned himself as chairman of the group and has sought to bring in dozens of world leaders, calling it “the most impressive and consequential board ever assembled.”
Hamas called Israel’s strikes “a renewed flagrant violation” of the truce.
What People Are Saying
Atallah Abu Hadaiyed, a Palestinians in Khan Younis, told the AP: “We came running and found my cousins lying here and there, with fire raging. We don’t know if we’re at war or at peace, or what. Where is the truce? Where is the ceasefire they talked about?”
Mohamad Safa, executive director of Patriotic Vision and U.N. representative, said in an X post Saturday: “Where’s Trump’s board of Peace? Israel has just bombed a camp sheltering displaced people in a safe zone. Children killed. This violates Article 52 of Additional Protocol (I) Geneva Conventions, but international law clearly doesn’t apply to Israel.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an X post about U.S. lawmakers in Jerusalem: “The Prime Minister thanked the delegation members for their consistent support for the State of Israel, and said that Israel is the model of a true ally.”
Samer al-Atbash, who lost his three small nieces in the strikes, told Reuters: “They say ‘ceasefire’ and all. What did those children do? What did we do?”
Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, said in an X post about the strikes: “As pressure builds on the Israeli government to further implement Trump’s plan for Gaza, Netanyahu intensifies his “ceasefire” attacks, causing a heavy Palestinian toll.”
Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement following their invitation to the Board of Peace on January 21: “Egypt expresses its support for the mission of the Board of Peace within the framework of the second phase of the comprehensive plan to end the conflict in Gaza, and in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 2803. Egypt affirms the continuation of its efforts, in coordination with the U.S. and partners, to ensure the consolidation of the ceasefire, the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian and relief assistance, the deployment of the international stabilization force, the empowerment of the National Committee for the Administration of the Gaza to carry out its duties, and the launch of early recovery projects across Gaza in preparation for reconstruction, as well as advancing a path toward achieving a just and lasting peace and fulfilling the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and statehood, thereby paving the way for security and stability for all states and peoples of the region.”
What Happens Next
As hostages have been returned to Israel, alive and as remains, and Palestinian prisoners were released in exchanges, the plan has moved into a second phase focused on Hamas’ disarmament and further Israeli withdrawals in Gaza.
The Trump administration just approved $6.67 billion in new arms sales to Israel this week.