Gaza Death Toll Holds Above 73,000; Trump-Netanyahu Rift Continues Through Formal Signing Aftermath
The Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war confirmed at over 73,000 holds through Thursday evening, per Gaza’s Health Ministry. The formal Trump-Iran-president signing does not address Gaza explicitly. Egyptian mediators continue indirect Hamas-Israel hostage-talks but remain deadlocked. Netanyahu’s 70%-Gaza control directive remains in operational effect. The Trump-Netanyahu rift over the Sunday Beirut strikes materially compresses Netanyahu’s political latitude. The Israeli government’s “deeply disappointed” positioning on the framework, captured in the Jerusalem Post analysis, holds through the post-signing cycle.
The framework text the US official described overnight does not address Gaza explicitly; the “all fronts including Lebanon” framing implies Lebanon and the war-on-Iran fronts but leaves Gaza unaddressed. With the Trump-Netanyahu rift now in operational effect after the Sunday Beirut strikes and the formal Iran-president signing without Israeli involvement, the Gaza-track posture has shifted materially. The 70%-control target represents a significant expansion of Israeli territorial control from the roughly 40-45% Israel was operating in before the directive.