Israeli kills 15 in Gaza as Trump waits for Hamas reply

Alexander Cornwell and Nidal al-Mughrabi | July 4, 2025

At least 15 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza, according to local health officials, as US President Donald Trump says he expects Hamas to respond to his “final proposal” for a ceasefire in Gaza in the next 24 hours.

Health officials at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, said the Israeli military had carried out an air strike on a tent encampment west of the city early on Friday, killing 15 Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Later on Friday, Palestinians gathered to perform funeral prayers before burying those killed overnight.

“The ceasefire will come, and I have lost my brother? There should have been a ceasefire long ago before I lost my brother,” said 13-year-old Mayar Al Farr as she wept. Her brother, Mahmoud, was among those killed.

Trump earlier said it would probably be known in 24 hours whether Hamas has accepted a ceasefire between the Palestinian militant group and Israel.

On Tuesday, the president announced that Israel had accepted the conditions needed to finalise a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, during which the parties would work towards ending the war.

Hamas, which has previously declared it would only agree to a deal for a permanent end to the war, has said it was studying the proposal, but given no public indication whether it would accept or reject it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is yet to comment on Trump’s ceasefire announcement.

While some members of his right-wing coalition oppose a deal, others have indicated their support.

Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the militant group has refused to discuss.

In Tel Aviv, families and friends of hostages held in Gaza were among demonstrators who gathered outside a US embassy building on US Independence Day, calling on Trump to secure a deal for all of the captives.

Demonstrators set up a symbolic Shabbat dinner table, placing 50 empty chairs to represent those who are still held in Gaza.

Banners hung nearby displaying a post by Trump from his Truth Social platform that read, “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”

The Sabbath, or Shabbat, observed from Friday evening to Saturday nightfall, is often marked by Jewish families with a traditional Friday night dinner.

The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, while displacing most of the population of more than two million, triggering widespread hunger and leaving much of the territory in ruins.