Israeli airstrikes continue in Gaza ahead of a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, which comes into force on Sunday, with the approval of the Israeli government.
The strikes killed 62 people overnight, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said after the deal was announced.
Gaza’s Civil Defense Agency put the number higher, saying at least 73 people were killed and hundreds wounded.
Among the victims were 12 people who lived in an apartment block in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, the health ministry said.
The Israel Defense Forces initially said a “fallen missile” had been identified in southern Israel on Thursday, but later said it had been misidentified.
Israel has previously launched airstrikes ahead of a ceasefire agreement taking effect, most recently in Lebanon, where heavy bombing hit the capital Beirut just hours before the ceasefire in November.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expects to ratify Gaza ceasefire agreement in parliament on Thursday, but his office said Hamas had “reneged” on parts of the deal, sparking a “last-minute crisis”.
It added that the cabinet would not meet until Hamas accepted “all elements of the agreement.”
A senior Hamas official told the BBC that his movement was committed to the agreement announced by the mediators and that the head of their delegation, Khalil al-Hayya, had officially informed Qatar and Egypt of his approval of all the terms of the deal.
Two hard-line right-wing ministers, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, have long threatened to leave the government coalition if the truce continues.
That could trigger new elections in Israel, but their resignations will not block a deal if Netanyahu wants it to happen, observers say.
Qatar’s prime minister – who mediated the talks – called for “calm down” on both sides before the first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement begins.
This will see 33 hostages – including women, children and the elderly – exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
Israeli forces will also withdraw to the east, away from the densely populated areas of Gaza.
Displaced Palestinians will be allowed to begin returning to their homes, and hundreds of aid trucks will finally be able to enter the territory each day.
Negotiations for the second phase – which should allow for the release of the remaining hostages, the full withdrawal of Israeli troops and a return to “sustainable peace” – will begin on the 16th.
The third and final phase will involve the return of all remaining bodies of the hostages and the rebuilding of Gaza – something that could take years.
Achim Steiner of the United Nations Development Program told the BBC’s Newsday program that rebuilding Gaza will be a major challenge, given the enormous destruction caused by the war.
He said 40 million tons of “toxic” rubble needed to be removed before Gazans could return to where their homes once were.
“This is a very complex undertaking that we are facing now,” he said.
Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas – which is banned as a terrorist organization by Israel, the US and others – in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken for hostages.
Since then, more than 46,700 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there.
Most of the 2.3 million residents have also been displaced, destruction is widespread and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter as aid agencies struggle to get aid to those in need.
Israel says Hamas is still holding 94 hostages, 34 of whom are presumed dead. In addition, four Israelis were kidnapped before the war, two of whom are dead.
