Israel Launches First Gaza Airstrike in Over a Week
Israel carried out its first air strike on Gaza in more than a week, even as the United States pressed for a deal to end the war. Israel has told Washington it will keep pursuing those behind the October 2023 attacks while talks on disarming Hamas remain stalled. In the occupied West Bank, settler violence including a days-long siege of a Palestinian home drew fresh alarm.
The strike breaks a relative lull and signals that Prime Minister Netanyahu, having rejected President Trump’s peace framework, intends to keep up military pressure rather than wind the campaign down. It complicates an American effort already strained by the rare public split between the two leaders, and risks hardening Hamas’s stance on disarmament. On the ground in the West Bank, a surge in settler attacks — including a prolonged siege of a family home in Qusra — has drawn warnings that the territory is nearing breaking point. Each escalation chips away at the fragile diplomacy. Watch whether the strike is a one-off or the start of a renewed offensive.