Israeli air strikes continue in Gaza after ceasefire deal announced

Israel’s airstrikes continue in Gaza as a cease-fire agreement with Hamas comes into force on Sunday, according to an Israeli cabinet statement.

The strikes killed 73 people overnight, following the announcement of the deal, Gaza’s Hamas-run security agency said.

Those affected include 12 people who live in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, the health ministry said.

Israel’s security forces initially said a “falling shell” had been detected in southern Israel on Thursday, but later said it was misidentified.

Israel has already launched airstrikes in preparation for the ongoing ceasefire, most recently in Lebanon. big blast It hit the capital, Beirut, just hours before the end of the war there in November.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to accept Gaza an armistice agreement in parliament on Thursday, but his office says Hamas has “changed” some aspects of the agreement, which is causing a “last-minute problem”.

It adds that the ministers will not meet until Hamas accepts “all elements of the agreement”.

A Hamas official told the BBC that his group supports the agreement announced by the mediators and that the head of its delegation, Khalil al-Hayya, has informed Qatar and Egypt that they will accept all the agreements.

Two far-right ministers, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Defense Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, have threatened to quit the government coalition if the ceasefire continues.

That could trigger new elections in Israel, but their withdrawal will not stop the deal if Netanyahu wants it to happen, observers say.

Qatar’s prime minister – who acted as a mediator in the talks – has called for “calm” on both sides before the start of the first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement.

This will see 33 prisoners – including women, children and the elderly – exchanged with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

The Israeli army is back in the east, far away with many people the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian refugees will be allowed to begin returning home and hundreds of aid trucks will be allowed to enter the area every day.

Negotiations for the second phase – which should see the remaining prisoners released, the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army and a return to “sustainable stability” – will begin on the 16th.

The third and final phase will involve the return of the remaining bodies and the rebuilding of Gaza – which could take years.

Achim Steiner of the United Nations Development Program told the BBC’s Newsday program that the reconstruction of Gaza City will be a major challenge due to the massive destruction of the war.

He said 40 million tons of “toxic” waste must be removed before Gazans can return to their homes.

“This is the most difficult task we are facing right now,” he said.

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas – which has been declared a terrorist group by Israel, the US and others – in response to an unprecedented attack on 7 October 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were captured. .

More than 46,700 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the region’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Most of the 2.3 million people have been displaced, there is widespread destruction and there is a severe shortage of food, fuel, medicine and shelter, while aid agencies are struggling to get help to those in need.

Israel says 94 of those captured are still being held by Hamas, 34 of whom are presumed dead. In addition, there are four Israelis who were abducted before the war, two of whom died.