ISRAELI forces continued to violate the so-called ceasefire with Hamas as they killed at least 13 Palestinians in Gaza, according to health officials.

At least four children were among the dead in northern Gaza on Thursday following several strikes there as well as east of Gaza City.

It comes as US President Donald Trump was expected to announce the composition of the Board of Peace to oversee the truce.

Israel’s army said today 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.

One dead child was a girl who dreamed of becoming a doctor, a teenage girl and two boys in a tent camp. At least a dozen others were injured, according to hospital officials.

Israeli ceasefire violations have killed over 400 people.

The phased ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains in its initial stage as efforts continue to recover the remains of the final hostage in Gaza.

Officials say next week President Trump is expected to announce the Board of Peace, which he has said he will head, marking an important step forward for his Mideast peace plan. 

The US sources spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement.

On Thursday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov would be the “designated” director-general for the board. 

Mr Mladenov is a former Bulgarian defence and foreign minister who served as the United Nations envoy to Iraq before being appointed as the UN Middle East peace envoy from 2015-2020. 

During that time, he had good working relations with Israel and frequently worked to ease tensions between Israel and Hamas.

Under President Trump’s plan, the board would supervise a new technocratic Palestinian government, the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force, additional withdrawal of Israeli troops and reconstruction. 

The US 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 stabilisation force. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Hamas still refused to disarm and called the situation “extremely severe.”

Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the nearly three-month-old ceasefire. 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.