Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip have recently focused on targeting Palestinian faction fighters operating within what is known as the “joint force,” deployed near sensitive areas close to the so-called “yellow line,” Palestinian sources said.
The force is tasked with preventing infiltration by Israeli special units or armed groups, particularly in zones a few hundred meters from the line.
Israeli forces and allied armed groups are positioned inside the “yellow line,” described as the initial withdrawal boundary under a ceasefire agreement that took effect on Oct. 10, 2025.
The line covers around 52 percent of the Gaza Strip, while Hamas and other Palestinian factions are deployed to the west, seeking to prevent incursions into their areas of control and avert attempts to create “chaos” through field operations, including assassinations or abductions.
An Israeli drone strike late Friday killed six fighters from the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, as they were deployed in Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to local sources.
The bodies were brought in pieces to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, while several other fighters and civilians were wounded, some critically, in the strike, which involved two missiles.
Hundreds of Palestinians attended the funeral on Saturday at the main mosque in Bureij camp.
A field source told Asharq Al-Awsat that those killed included a company commander and his deputy in the Qassam Brigades. They had arrived in the area to inspect fighters deployed there just one day after armed group members attempted to infiltrate near the Anis Stadium area, located several hundred meters west of the yellow line.
The deployment aimed to counter any renewed infiltration attempts, the source said.
In recent days, Israeli forces and allied armed groups have concentrated their attacks in central Gaza, killing several Palestinian faction fighters, most of them from the Qassam Brigades, including some displaced from northern areas.
The number of Palestinians killed since the ceasefire took effect has risen to more than 749, bringing the overall death toll since Oct. 7, 2023 to 72,328, according to Palestinian figures.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the Bureij strike and what he described as ongoing Israeli violations show that the offensive “has not stopped,” despite claims that the ceasefire is holding.
He added that the developments underscore the need to compel Israel to fully implement the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, including halting daily violations, before moving to the second phase.
Hamas told mediators and the high representative of the Peace Council, Nikolay Mladenov, during meetings in Cairo last week that it and other factions want Israel to fully implement the first phase before advancing further.
Cairo has been hosting new rounds of Palestinian talks since Friday, along with meetings involving mediators and Mladenov to discuss the factions’ final response to a proposed disarmament plan.
Dispute over aid deliveries
The talks come amid Hamas criticism of Mladenov after he said Thursday that 602 trucks carrying goods and aid had entered Gaza.
Gaza’s government media office and Hamas denied the figure.
In a post on X, Mladenov said: “Today, 602 trucks entered Gaza carrying essential supplies for families who have waited too long. This is what expanded aid access should look like, and it must become the daily standard, not the exception.”
He noted that the deliveries were made possible by efforts from his team, the Gaza Administration Committee and the Peace Council, adding that all parties must fully adhere to ceasefire commitments.
His comments came as Reuters reported, citing sources, that the Peace Council faces funding challenges affecting the Gaza administration body’s ability to assume its responsibilities and delaying reconstruction, claims the council has denied.
Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau and part of its negotiating delegation, described Mladenov’s statements as “misleading,” saying only 207 trucks entered Gaza on Thursday, including 79 carrying aid.
He stressed that Israel was meeting less than 38 percent of its agreed commitments to allow aid into Gaza.
“This misinformation does not conceal the worsening humanitarian catastrophe,” Naim underlined, calling on the international community to ensure full implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire.
Gaza’s government media office confirmed the 207-truck figure, saying deliveries fall far short of humanitarian needs.
The Gaza Chamber of Commerce revealed that average daily truck entries do not exceed 113, about 19 percent of the minimum required, with 86 percent consisting of food items and a near absence of production inputs, reflecting severe economic paralysis and contributing to shortages, market imbalances and rising prices.
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