At least 82 people have been killed in Gaza following an Israeli airstrike, just hours after Hamas and Israel announced they had reached a ceasefire agreement. Medical sources told journalists that the death toll included at least 30 people in Gaza City. One of the deadly airstrikes hit a house near the Engineers Union Building in Gaza City late on Wednesday night, killing at least 18 people.
The Palestinian Civil Defence reported that they had recovered the bodies of 12 people from Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. In central Gaza, a drone strike killed five people in the Karaj area of the Bureij refugee camp.
The violence escalated rapidly following the ceasefire announcement on Wednesday evening. Although the ceasefire was celebrated by some Palestinians, the celebrations quickly turned to fear as Israeli airstrikes resumed.
“However, immediately after the announcement, Israeli warplanes extinguished that joy for the people striking hospitals, shelters, and homes with direct airstrikes.”
Both Hamas and Israel have publicly acknowledged reaching an agreement on the ceasefire and a captive exchange deal, but Israeli officials have indicated that some final details are still being worked out. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated on Thursday morning that he had spoken to the negotiating team in Doha, where discussions were ongoing over which Palestinian prisoners will be released during the first phase of the deal.
As of January 1, 2025, there are over 10,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, excluding those detained by the Israeli military during the conflict. Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, was among those taken by Israeli forces.
Izzat al-Risheq, a senior member of Hamas’s political bureau, confirmed that the ceasefire deal met all of the group’s conditions, including the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the return of displaced people to their homes, and a permanent cessation of hostilities in the enclave. However, the exact time the ceasefire will begin is still uncertain. The process will be implemented in three phases, with the ceasefire slated to officially begin on Sunday.
