Israeli strikes kill at least 13 across Gaza, as Trump is expected to
announce Board of Peace
[January 09, 2026]
By WAFAA SHURAFA
DEIR AL BALAH (AP) — Israeli strikes across Gaza have killed at least 13
people, according to health officials, as U.S. President Donald Trump
was expected to announce his Board of Peace to oversee the fragile
ceasefire.
Health officials and family members said at least one child was among
the dead in northern Gaza following several strikes there as well as
east of Gaza City. All 13 people were killed on Thursday.
Israel's army said Friday that it struck Hamas infrastructure and
fighters in southern and northern Gaza in response to a failed
projectile launched by militants from the Gaza City area.
The phased ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains in its initial
stage as efforts continue to recover the remains of the final Israeli
hostage in Gaza.
Officials say that Trump is expected to announce next week his
appointments to his Board of Peace, which he has said he will head,
marking an important step forward for his Middle East peace plan. The
process has moved slowly since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took
effect nearly three months ago.
The U.S. official and another official spoke on condition of anonymity
pending a formal announcement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Bulgarian
diplomat Nickolay Mladenov would be the board's “designated”
director-general. Mladenov is a former Bulgarian defense and foreign
minister who served as the U.N. envoy to Iraq before being appointed as
the U.N. Mideast peace envoy from 2015-2020. During that time, he had
good working relations with Israel and frequently worked to ease
Israel-Hamas tensions.
[to top of second column]
|
Palestinians inspect the damage at a displacement camp following an
Israeli strike in Gaza City, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad
Alshrafi)
Under Trump’s plan, the board would supervise a new technocratic
Palestinian government, the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of
an international security force, additional pullbacks of Israeli
troops and reconstruction. The U.S. has reported little progress on
any of these fronts so far.
On Thursday, Egyptian and European Union leaders met in Cairo and
urged the deployment of the international stabilization force. EU
foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that Hamas still refused to
disarm and called the situation “extremely severe."
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the ceasefire,
which took effect on Oct. 10. Continued Israeli strikes in Gaza have
killed more than 400 Palestinians, according to local health
officials.
The Israeli military says any actions since the ceasefire began have
been in response to violations of the agreement.
Relatives and health officials say an 11-year-old girl who dreamed
of becoming a doctor, a teenage girl and two boys in a tent camp
were among those killed on Thursday. At least a dozen others were
injured, hospital officials said.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
