GAZA/JERUSALEM, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- At least nine Palestinians, including two children, were killed early Sunday in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, while Israel said it has killed two Hamas commanders over the weekend and as the enclave's housing crisis reached a "catastrophic" level.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, told Xinhua that Israeli aircraft struck residential buildings in multiple locations since early morning, killing a man, his wife and their child in Gaza City, three people including a child in southern Gaza's Al-Mawasi, and an elderly couple in central Gaza's Deir al-Balah, along with other casualties.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said Sunday in a statement that it has killed Hamas commander Muhammad Abd al-Nasser Muhammad Khatib in a strike on Friday, and Hamas commander Salem Jamal Abd al-Rahman Abu Labad in a strike on Saturday.
Also on Sunday, the Hamas-run authorities of public works and housing in Gaza said in a statement that about 410,000 housing units in the enclave have been destroyed or rendered uninhabitable, with over 350,000 families in urgent need of shelter.
Around 150,000 families are living in dilapidated tents lacking basic services, they added.
The developments followed renewed diplomatic efforts regarding the future of the Gaza ceasefire. On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the so-called "Board of Peace" had reached an agreement on the "complete disarmament" of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza.
On Friday, Hamas said it agreed to the "latest version of the roadmap" for the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement after "fierce" negotiations, but conditioned weaponry arrangements on a complete halt to "aggression," Israeli withdrawal from the enclave, and progress on reconstruction. ■
