Gaza - Israeli strikes kill 13, including 5 children: Netanyahu says Trump will appoint Mladenov to head Gaza Reconstruction Board

Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 13 in Gaza Despite Ceasefire; Trump Appoints Mladenov to Lead Peace Board

By Josef Federman, Wafaa Shurafa (AP) and Agence France-Presse (Guardian)

Associated Press & The Guardian

January 8, 2026

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Summary

Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 13 Palestinians on Thursday, including five children. The deaths bring the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the ceasefire took effect to at least 425, according to Gaza's health ministry. 

 

The announcement came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that former UN Mideast envoy Nickolay Mladenov has been chosen to direct President Trump's Board of Peace, which is meant to oversee the second phase of the ceasefire agreement. The board is supposed to supervise a new technocratic Palestinian government, Hamas disarmament, deployment of an international security force, additional Israeli troop withdrawals, and reconstruction, though the U.S. has reported little progress on any of these fronts. 

Egyptian and European Union leaders meeting in Cairo urged deployment of an international stabilization force.

Quotes

"Talk to me, dad!" - Daughter of Abdullah al-Kassas crying outside Nasser Hospital after he was killed in a strike in eastern Khan Younis

"They say that there is a ceasefire and that the war on Gaza has stopped. Is this only through the media, while every day there are explosions and fire belts? Shooting does not stop. Where is the ceasefire?" - Khamis Housou, uncle of 11-year-old victim Hamsa Housou

"The situation is extremely severe. Still, Hamas refuses to disarm. It blocks progress to the next stage of the peace plan at the same time Israel is also restricting the international NGOs that are putting humanitarian aid access at serious risk. There's no justification for the humanitarian situation in Gaza to have deteriorated to the current level." - Kaja Kallas, EU foreign policy chief

"If the agency cannot or has to stop to operate in Gaza or in the West Bank, this will create a huge vacuum." - Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA commissioner general

"The death toll has risen to 13 as a result of Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since this morning in a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement." - Mahmud Bassal, Gaza civil defence agency spokesperson