Israel continues heavy strikes on Gaza despite Trump appeal

People inspect the damge following an Israeli strike that hit a tent used by displaced Palestinians inside the vicinty of the Shuhada al-Aqsa (Aqsa Martyrs) Hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on October 1, 2025. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)
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Updated 04 October 2025
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Israel continues heavy strikes on Gaza despite Trump appeal

  • Gaza’s civil defense agency said Saturday that Israel carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling
  •  Israel’s military it was continuing its offensive in Gaza City and warned residents not to return

JERUSALEM: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Saturday that Israel carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City despite Trump’s appeal to end bombardments after Hamas accepted a ceasefire deal.

“It was a very violent night, during which the (Israeli army) carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City and other areas in the Strip, despite President Trump’s call to halt the bombing,” civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

Bassal, whose agency is a rescue force which operates under Hamas authority, added that 20 homes were destroyed in the overnight bombardments.

Israel’s military said Saturday it was continuing its offensive in Gaza City and warned residents not to return to the area which it described as a "dangerous combat zone". 

“The IDF (Israeli military) troops are still operating in Gaza City, and returning to it is extremely dangerous. For your safety, avoid returning north or approaching areas of IDF troop activity anywhere — including in the southern Gaza Strip,” the military’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, said on X.


Hamas says will give up arms to a Palestinian authority ‘if occupation ends’

Updated 07 December 2025
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Hamas says will give up arms to a Palestinian authority ‘if occupation ends’

  • “We accept the deployment of UN forces as a separation force, tasked with monitoring the borders and ensuring compliance with the ceasefire in Gaza,” Hayya says

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Hamas said Saturday it was ready to hand over its weapons in the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian authority governing the territory on the condition that the Israeli army’s occupation ends.
“Our weapons are linked to the existence of the occupation and the aggression,” Hamas chief negotiator and its Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya said in a statement, adding: “If the occupation ends, these weapons will be placed under the authority of the state.” Asked by AFP, Hayya’s bureau said he was referring to a sovereign and independent Palestnian state.
“We accept the deployment of UN forces as a separation force, tasked with monitoring the borders and ensuring compliance with the ceasefire in Gaza,” Hayya added, signalling his group’s rejection of the deployment of an international force in the Strip whose mission would be to disarm it.