Israeli attacks kill dozens in Gaza after announcing the ceasefire agreement News of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

An Israeli raid on a house in Gaza City resulted in the deaths of 18 people, while Palestinians tensely awaited the start of a ceasefire on Sunday.

Medical sources told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces killed at least 82 people in Gaza, including at least 30 people in Gaza City in the hours after Hamas and Israel announced they had reached an agreement. Ceasefire agreement.

An Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent reported that an attack on a house near the Engineers Syndicate building in Gaza City, north of the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday evening, led to the killing of at least 18 people.

The Palestinian Civil Defense also announced that it had recovered the bodies of 12 citizens from the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City.

In the central Gaza Strip, five people were killed in an Israeli drone strike that targeted a gathering of people in the Karaj area of ​​the Bureij refugee camp.

The death toll, counted since dawn on Wednesday, continued to rise as Palestinians returned to their tents after briefly celebrating the news of a ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday evening.

“For two hours, people turned this entire area into a stage to celebrateHani Mahmoud, Al Jazeera’s correspondent from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, said: “This is something we are not accustomed to seeing here because this area was the scene of funerals for war victims and a space full of torment and sadness.” .

Mahmoud said that the ceasefire will not begin until Sunday, and people in Gaza fear that the worst will come before the Israeli bombing stops.

He added: “We expect an escalation in drone and heavy artillery attacks, and this is what prompted people to end celebrations after two hours.”

Anas Al-Sharif, Al Jazeera’s correspondent from Gaza City, said that the intense Israeli attacks there “extinguished” the joy that people felt upon the initial announcement of the ceasefire.

Al-Sharif said: “Just hours ago, an atmosphere of joy and relief prevailed among the residents here when the ceasefire announcement was issued from Doha, which was announced to enter into force in the coming days.”

“But immediately after the announcement, Israeli warplanes extinguished the people’s joy, striking hospitals, shelters and homes with direct air strikes.”

Both Israel and Hamas have publicly acknowledged the ceasefire and a prisoner exchange agreement has been reached, although Israel has said some final details still need to be discussed before the agreement is concluded.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that he spoke with the Israeli negotiating team in Doha at dawn on Thursday, who informed him of the differences with Hamas related to the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for prisoners during the first phase. Of the deal.

As of 1 January 2025, there are at least 10,221 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, excluding unknown numbers of Palestinians taken from Gaza and arrested by the army, including Dr. Hossam Abu Safia Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, which was destroyed by the Israeli occupation forces.

Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said earlier that the ceasefire agreement meets all the conditions of the Palestinian movement, including the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the return of the displaced to their homes, and a permanent cessation of the war in the Strip. pocket.

The exact date for the start of the ceasefire on Sunday is not yet known, although the entire process will be implemented Three stages.