• Israeli soldier being investigated for faking Palestinian’s abduction for ransom
• US envoy Steve Witkoff calls talks with Netanyahu ‘positive’

CAIRO: In another violation of the US-brokered ceasefire, Israeli troops killed two more Palestinians in the Tuffah neighbourhood in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, and an Israeli drone wounded four others in a separate incident in Gaza City, local health authorities said. On Saturday, Israeli forces killed three Palestinians, two of them teenagers, in two drone attacks in Gaza.

Medical workers said an Israeli drone exploded on the rooftop of a multi-floor building in Gaza City, wounding four Palestinians in the street nearby.

There was no comment by the Israeli military on either incident.

Gaza has been reduced to rubble in the indiscriminate Israeli bombing.

The Gaza health ministry says more than 71,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by Israeli fire since then.

It says that at least 480 people were killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire agreement came into effect last October.

Earlier this month, Washington announced that the plan had now moved into the second phase, under which Israel is expected to withdraw troops further from Gaza, and Hamas is due to yield control of the territory’s administration.

Meanwhile, in Khan Younis, over a hundred people attended the funeral of a person who was killed by Israeli drone attack on Saturday, after holding special prayers in front of his white-shrouded body at the morgue in Nasser Hospital.

“They are liars, there is no ceasefire,” said Fares Erheimat, a relative of the dead man, during the funeral.

Ransom case

Israeli military said on Sunday it had launched an investigation into a soldier who reportedly fabricated a kidnapping of a Palestinian detainee and demanded ransom from his family.

The Palestinian man had been detained at a holding facility when a military police guard photographed him and sent the image to his family, falsely claiming he had been kidnapped, the Times of Israel reported.

In a separate report, Israeli Army Radio said the soldier demanded the family transfer money in exchange for his release.

Confirming the case, the military said an investigation had been launched but declined to provide details.

US envoys, Netanyahu discuss Rafah

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reopen the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt during talks in Jerusalem, Israeli media reported Sunday.

The reports came after a newly appointed administrator for Gaza said on Thursday that the crossing would be operational in both directions next week.

Israeli news site Ynet reported, citing an unnamed Israeli official, that while the meeting between Netanyahu, Witkoff and Kushner was “positive”, Witkoff pressed Israel to reopen Rafah even before Hamas returns remains of the last Israeli prisoner believed to be held in Gaza.

According to the official, Witkoff also raised the possibility of Turkiye playing a role in Gaza’s future.

“Witkoff pushed to bring our greatest rival, Turkiye, to our border,” the official was quoted as saying.

The official also accused Witkoff of acting on behalf of Doha, saying he had “become a lobbyist for Qatari interests”, according to Ynet.

US officials’ discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the second phase of President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza were constructive, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday.

“The United States and Israel maintain a strong and longstanding relationship built on close coordination and shared priorities. The discussion was constructive and positive, with both sides aligned on next steps and the importance of continued cooperation on all matters critical to the region,” Witkoff said in an X post. The talks were held on Saturday, he said.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2026