Eleven Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza on Sunday morning, according to local civil defence and health officials, underscoring the fragility of an already strained ceasefire.

The Israel Defense Forces said the strikes targeted militant positions in response to alleged ceasefire violations by Hamas. It stated that fighters were killed after emerging from a tunnel into an area of the strip under Israeli military control.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that a strike on a tent encampment in northern Gaza killed at least six people, while another attack in the south left five dead.

Since the ceasefire came into force on 10 October, both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of near-daily breaches. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says at least 600 people have been killed during this period.

Earlier this month, local officials reported that at least 32 people died in a broader wave of Israeli air strikes across the territory.

The latest escalation comes as preparations continue for the second phase of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement.

Last month, US President Donald Trump announced the creation of a new body, the Board of Peace, which has been granted a mandate from the United Nations Security Council to establish an international force. The mission is intended to secure border areas in Gaza and oversee the disarmament of Hamas.

The board, scheduled to hold its first meeting in Washington on 19 February, is also tasked with supervising the formation of a technocratic Palestinian government and coordinating post-war reconstruction efforts.

As part of the next phase of the ceasefire plan, Indonesia — a member of the Board of Peace — has announced plans to deploy 8,000 troops to Gaza.

The conflict was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.

Israel responded with a military campaign in Gaza that has since resulted in more than 71,820 deaths, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to Washington last week for talks with Trump, with discussions focusing in part on efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear programme — which Tehran maintains is solely for civilian use.

Netanyahu was expected to urge the US administration to pursue an agreement aimed at halting Iran’s uranium enrichment and limiting its ballistic missile capabilities, as broader regional security concerns continue to shape diplomatic efforts alongside the ceasefire process.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that the world is entering a defining new phase in global politics, as he arrived in Europe to lead the American delegation at the Munich Security Conference.

Speaking before delivering a major address at the gathering, Rubio described the moment as a turning point for international relations, saying shifting alliances and rising tensions were forcing nations to rethink their roles on the global stage.

“The world is changing very fast right in front of us,” he told reporters. “We live in a new era in geopolitics, and it’s going to require all of us to sort of re-examine what that looks like and what our role is going to be.”

The conference marks the first major global forum since President Donald Trump renewed calls for the US to annex Greenland — a move widely viewed in Europe as a direct challenge to Danish sovereignty and a strain on long-standing alliances.

French President Emmanuel Macron has urged Europe to prepare for greater strategic independence from Washington, while Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasised that transatlantic ties remain strong and essential despite growing tensions.

This year’s conference, which opened on Friday, is expected to focus heavily on the war in Ukraine, strategic rivalry with China and the prospect of a new nuclear agreement between Iran and the United States.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz used his opening remarks to call for renewed cooperation between Europe and the US, appealing for both sides to “repair and revive transatlantic trust together”.

Merz also disclosed that confidential discussions were under way with Macron on the possibility of a joint European nuclear deterrent — a significant step for a continent where only France and the UK possess nuclear weapons, while many others traditionally rely on the US nuclear umbrella within Nato.

Around 50 world leaders are attending the conference, where the future of European defence and the transatlantic partnership is under close scrutiny amid questions about Washington’s long-term commitment to the alliance.

Tensions have been further heightened by Trump’s repeated assertions that Greenland is vital to US national security. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen confirmed she plans to meet Rubio to address the issue directly, as European leaders increasingly see the dispute as a watershed moment in relations with the United States.

In the lead-up to the summit, eight former US ambassadors to Nato and eight former American supreme commanders in Europe issued an open letter urging Washington to sustain its support for the alliance. They argued that Nato is “far from being a charity”, describing it instead as a strategic force multiplier that enhances US influence in ways that would otherwise be difficult or costly to achieve.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has chosen his teenage daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as his heir, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), marking a potentially historic development in the dynastic leadership of the secretive state.

The NIS briefed lawmakers on Thursday that it believes Ju Ae — thought to be around 13 years old — has entered the formal stage of “successor designation”. The assessment, officials said, was based on a range of factors, including her increasingly prominent public appearances at major state events.

In recent months, Ju Ae has frequently been seen at her father’s side during high-profile engagements, including a visit to Beijing in September — her first known trip abroad. She has also appeared at key domestic ceremonies, such as the founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army and visits to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum housing the bodies of North Korea’s former leaders.

Lawmaker Lee Seong-kwen told reporters that the intelligence agency had observed signs that Ju Ae was moving beyond symbolic appearances. “As Kim Ju Ae has shown her presence at various events… and signs have been detected of her voicing her opinion on certain state policies, the NIS believes she has now entered the stage of being designated as successor,” Lee said.

Previously, the NIS had described Ju Ae as being “trained” to assume a future leadership role. The latest briefing suggests that Pyongyang may now be transitioning from preparation to formal positioning within the ruling structure.

The agency also indicated it would closely monitor whether Ju Ae attends North Korea’s upcoming Workers’ Party Congress later this month. Held once every five years, the congress is the country’s most significant political gathering and is expected to outline Pyongyang’s strategic direction on foreign policy, military planning and nuclear development for the next half-decade.

Ju Ae is the only publicly acknowledged child of Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju. However, South Korean intelligence believes the North Korean leader also has an older son, who has never been publicly identified or featured in state media.

The first public revelation of Ju Ae’s existence came from an unexpected source. In 2013, former American basketball player Dennis Rodman told The Guardian that he had “held baby Ju Ae” during a visit to North Korea.

Her first official appearance on state television occurred in 2022, when she was shown holding her father’s hand while inspecting a newly unveiled intercontinental ballistic missile — a powerful symbol linking her image to the regime’s strategic weapons programme.