Israeli strikes in Gaza kill multiple Palestinians amid ceasefire violations

Aug 16, 2026

Israeli military strikes in Gaza have killed multiple Palestinians, including a child in a Gaza City cafe and a man in Deir al-Balah, amid ongoing ceasefire violations. The IDF claims these targeted operations killed key Hamas commanders, including Sharif al-Hasanat and Sobhi Sami Mahmoud Shahtot, who posed immediate threats. While US envoy Jared Kushner and Egyptian mediators hold talks to salvage the peace plan, regional mediators warn that the strikes threaten to collapse the fragile ceasefire.

Israeli strikes in Gaza

▪An Israeli airstrike struck an apartment in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, targeting a militant and injuring several people.
▪An Israeli airstrike targeted a militant in a Khan Younis tent encampment in southern Gaza, injuring at least five Palestinians, according to medics.
▪An Israeli strike on a cafe in the port area west of Gaza City on August 18, 2026, killed six Palestinians, including a child, and injured several others.
▪An Israeli drone strike on a house in the western city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on August 22, 2026, killed one person and wounded another.

Hamas commanders targeted

▪The Israel Defense Forces stated that Sharif al-Hasanat had worked to restore Hamas' underground infrastructure and recently advanced attacks against Israeli forces.
▪The Israel Defense Forces stated that its August 18, 2026, strike on a Gaza City cafe targeted four Hamas commanders.
▪The Israel Defense Forces killed Sharif al-Hasanat, a company commander in Hamas' Deir al-Balah Battalion, in a central Gaza strike on August 22, 2026.
▪The Israel Defense Forces killed Sobhi Sami Mahmoud Shahtot, a Hamas platoon commander who participated in holding hostages, in a strike in Nuseirat.

Ceasefire violations

▪Israeli military actions have killed more than 1,250 Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire, while militants have killed four Israeli soldiers.
▪The Shaar Hanegev Regional Council demanded that the Israeli military respond in real time to kites flown over the border from Gaza.
▪Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar condemned an increase in Israeli strikes and urged Israel to abide by the ceasefire and avoid escalating tensions.

US mediation efforts

▪Progress on the United States-backed Gaza peace plan remains stalled as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects reconstruction before Hamas is fully disarmed.
▪United States President Donald Trump's envoy Jared Kushner met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in El-Alamein to discuss implementing the Gaza ceasefire.

Egyptian mediation efforts

▪Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya met Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad in Cairo to brief Egyptian mediators on what Hamas considers Israeli ceasefire violations.
▪Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar warned that renewed Israeli strikes risk undermining international efforts to implement the plan for ending the Gaza conflict.

UK settlement sanctions consideration

▪United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is weighing options to increase pressure on Israel, including expanding human rights sanctions regarding humanitarian aid obstruction.
▪The United Kingdom is considering a new sanctions regime that would ban trade in goods and services with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.