Israeli strikes killed at least 19 Palestinians in Gaza within days of US President Donald Trump’s announcement on July 30 of an agreement for Hamas and other armed groups to disarm. The weekend death toll reached 26, according to the source material, as attacks hit homes, shelters, a vehicle and a medicine warehouse.
The agreement was presented as a move into the second phase of the October 2025 ceasefire deal, but its central conditions remain contested. Hamas negotiator Ghazi Hamad said the group would not implement it unless Israel stopped attacks and withdrew its forces, while an Israeli prime minister’s office spokesperson said troops would stay until Hamas was fully disarmed.
At a glance:
- At least 19 Palestinians were killed in Gaza in one day after the July 30 announcement, bringing the weekend toll to 26.
- Gaza’s Health Ministry said 152 people were killed in July, the territory’s deadliest month of 2026 so far.
- The UN recorded more than 1,380 settler-related incidents in the West Bank since the start of 2026.
A deal announced as violence continues
Trump described the disarmament agreement as “a historic agreement” negotiated through the Board of Peace, the body he established to oversee Gaza’s post-war reconstruction and governance. It was framed as the long-awaited beginning of the ceasefire’s second phase, but no mechanism resolving the opposing Israeli and Hamas conditions was identified.
Related coverage: Israeli Gaza Pullback Depends on Hamas Disarmament, Board Says.
The strikes continued across Gaza after the announcement. In Gaza City, a strike on al-Sousi Tower killed Abdullah Abu Taif, his pregnant wife Abeer Anan and their five-year-old son, Azzam; medics said they recovered the remains of an unborn child. Other attacks killed families in al-Qarara and near Deir el-Balah, as well as people in a tent and a vehicle in Gaza City’s Remal neighbourhood.
Nickolay Mladenov, a Board of Peace envoy, condemned two days of attacks, saying civilians had been killed and medical supplies destroyed. Israel said one Remal strike targeted military operatives. The Israeli military also said a weapons depot beside Al-Aqsa Hospital was hit, while Gaza’s Health Ministry said the attack destroyed two of the hospital’s four medicine-storage facilities and badly damaged the other two.
Gaza’s toll and missing people rise
The Gaza Health Ministry said July was the territory’s deadliest month of 2026, with 152 people killed. By August 3, it recorded 1,250 deaths and more than 4,100 injuries since the October 2025 ceasefire began, despite the agreement’s stated aim of reducing the conflict.
More context: Historic Hamas Disarmament Agreement in Gaza Faces Uncertainty.
On August 1, Gaza Civil Defence completed a two-week search of a destroyed home in the Sabra neighbourhood and recovered 112 bodies, including 40 children. Mohammed Abu Dan, who supervised the operation, said 157 people were still missing from that site. Thousands of bodies are believed to remain beneath rubble across Gaza.
The violence also included new restrictions on movement. Israeli forces placed additional concrete barriers along Salah al-Din Street near Shujayea, expanding the Yellow Line that separates Israeli-occupied areas from the rest of Gaza and cutting displaced families off from one of the territory’s few remaining open north-south routes. The unresolved dispute over withdrawal and disarmament therefore remains tied to access, aid and civilian safety.
West Bank settler attacks and land seizures
The West Bank experienced a parallel escalation. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said July, together with March, was the deadliest month for Palestinians in settler-related incidents since October 2023. It recorded more than 1,380 such incidents across the West Bank in 2026, an average of 6.6 each day.
Also read: West Bank patients face critical delays amid Israeli checkpoint closures.
Settlers attacked elderly farmers near Beitillu, assaulted residents in Idhna and established new illegal outposts during the week. A 10-year-old boy was shot near al-Mughayyir on July 31; Israeli police later arrested an off-duty soldier and settler on suspicion of the shooting, according to Haaretz. Sinjil, a town of about 8,000 people, remained sealed for a third week by earth mounds and metal barriers.
Land measures accompanied the attacks. Israeli authorities issued orders in the Jenin governorate covering about 200 dunums, including land for military roads serving government-approved outposts. Kerem Navot also documented military orders affecting Palestinian Authority-administered Area A land, which researcher Dror Etkes said were intended to connect two new settlements. An Israeli court separately cleared the demolition of a girls’ school serving 251 students and three homes in Masafer Yatta. Canada called the settlements illegal under international law, while the UN rights office said it was alarmed by further expansion plans.
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