By Andrew Mills, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell
DOHA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel stepped up strikes on Gaza hours after a cease-fire and hostage-free deal was announced, residents and authorities in the Palestinian enclave said, as mediators sought to quell the fighting ahead of the start of a truce on Sunday.
A tentative ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Gaza-controlling Hamas militant group emerged on Wednesday after months of mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the US and 15 months of bloodshed that has ravaged the coastal territory and ignited the Middle East.
The agreement provides for an initial six-week ceasefire with the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands have been killed. Hostages taken by Hamas would be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
At a news conference in Doha, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the ceasefire would take effect on Sunday. Negotiators are working with Israel and Hamas on steps to implement the agreement, he said.
“This deal will end the fighting in Gaza, increase much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians and reunite hostages with their families after more than 15 months of captivity,” US President Joe Biden said in Washington.
His successor, Donald Trump, takes office on Monday and takes credit for the breakthrough in Gaza.
Israel’s acceptance of the deal will not be official until it is approved by the country’s security cabinet and government, with a vote scheduled for Thursday, an Israeli official said.
The deal was expected to win approval despite opposition from some hardliners in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government.
As people celebrated the pact in Gaza and Israel, the Israeli military escalated attacks after the announcement, civilian emergency services and residents said.
Heavy Israeli bombardment, particularly in Gaza City, killed 32 people late Wednesday, doctors said. The strikes continued early Thursday and destroyed homes in Rafah in southern Gaza, Nuseirat in central Gaza and northern Gaza, residents said.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment and there were no reports of Hamas attacks on Israel after the ceasefire was announced.
A Palestinian official close to the ceasefire talks said mediators were trying to convince both sides to end hostilities before the ceasefire takes effect.
JOYING IN GAZA
In social media posts, some Gazans urged Palestinians to be extra cautious in the belief that Israel could step up attacks in the next few days to maximize gains before the ceasefire begins.
Despite this, news of the cease-fire agreement caused jubilation in Gaza, where Palestinians face severe shortages of food, water, shelter and fuel. In Khan Younis, crowds jammed the streets to the sound of trumpets as they cheered, waved Palestinian flags and danced.
“I am happy. Yes, I cry, but they are tears of joy,” said Ghada, an exiled mother of five.
In Tel Aviv, the families of the Israeli hostages and their friends also welcomed the news, saying in a statement that they felt “tremendous joy and relief (at) the agreement to bring our loved ones home.”
In a statement on social media announcing the ceasefire, Hamas called the pact “an achievement for our people” and a “milestone”.
If successful, the ceasefire will halt fighting that has leveled much of urbanized Gaza, killed more than 46,000 people and displaced most of the tiny enclave’s pre-war population of 2.3 million, according to Gaza authorities.
That in turn could ease tensions in the wider Middle East, where the war has fueled conflict in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and fueled fears of an all-out war between Israel’s biggest regional foes and Iran.
With 98 Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza, the first phase of the deal calls for the release of 33 of them, including all women, children and men over the age of 50. The two American hostages, Keith Siegel and Sagui Dekel-Chen, were among those to be freed in the first phase, the source said.
FOOD OK AT GAZA BORDERS
The agreement calls for an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the UN and International Committee of the Red Cross have said they are preparing to increase their aid operations.
“The ceasefire is the beginning – not the end. We have food lined up on the Gaza border – and we need to be able to get it in large quantities,” Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program, told X.
The global reaction to the ceasefire was enthusiastic. Leaders and officials from Egypt, Turkey, Britain, the United Nations, the European Union, Jordan, Germany and the United Arab Emirates, among others, celebrated the news.
Both Biden and Trump took credit for the deal, which was in the works, but Trump’s emissary helped him over the line.
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was in Qatar along with White House envoys for the talks, and a senior Biden administration official said Witkoff’s presence was key to reaching a deal after 96 hours of intense negotiations.
Biden said the two teams “spoke as one.”
The Israeli families of the hostages have expressed concern that the deal may not be fully implemented and that some hostages may remain in Gaza.
Negotiations on the implementation of the second phase of the deal would begin by the 16th day of the first phase, which was expected to include the release of all remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The third phase refers to the return of all remaining dead bodies and the beginning of the reconstruction of Gaza under the supervision of Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.
If all goes well, the Palestinians, Arab states and Israel still have to agree on a vision for post-war Gaza, including the unanswered question of who will govern Gaza after the war.
Israeli troops invaded Gaza after Hamas-led gunmen stormed communities in Israel’s border region on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 soldiers and civilians and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
