Israeli airstrikes continue in Gaza after a cease-fire agreement was announced

Israeli airstrikes continue in Gaza ahead of a cease-fire and hostage deal with Hamas that comes into force on Sunday, subject to approval by the Israeli cabinet.

The strikes killed 73 people overnight after the deal was announced, the Hamas-run Gaza Civil Defense Agency said.

Among the victims were 12 people who lived in a residential area in the Sheikh Radwan district of Gaza City, the health ministry said.

The Israel Defense Forces initially said a “fallen projectile” had been identified in southern Israel on Thursday, but later said it had been misidentified.

Israel has previously carried out airstrikes ahead of ceasefire agreements taking effect, most recently in Lebanon, where strong bombs fell on the capital Beirut a few hours before the ceasefire in November.

Benjamin Netanyahu was the Prime Minister of Israel pending ratification by Gaza ceasefire agreement in parliament on Thursday, but his office said Hamas had “reneged” on parts of the deal, causing 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 deal announced by the mediators, and that the head of its delegation, Khalil al-Hayya, had formally informed Qatar and Egypt of his approval of all terms of the agreement.

Two hard-right ministers, Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, have long threatened to quit the government coalition if the ceasefire continues.

That could trigger new elections in Israel, but their resignation would not block a deal if Netanyahu wants it to happen, observers say.

Qatar’s prime minister, who has been mediating the talks, called for “calm” on both sides ahead of the start of the first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement.

This will lead to the exchange of 33 hostages – including women, children and the elderly – for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

Israeli forces will also withdraw to the east, away from densely populated areas of Gaza.

Displaced Palestinians will be allowed to begin returning to their homes, and hundreds of aid trucks will finally enter the territory each day.

Talks on the second phase – which should involve the release of the remaining hostages, the full withdrawal of Israeli forces and a return to “sustainable calm” – will begin on the 16th.

The third and final phase will involve the return of any 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 would be a huge challenge given the massive destruction caused by the war.

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

“This is a very difficult task that we are facing now,” he said.

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas – which is banned as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and others – in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.

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

Much of the 2.3 million population has also been displaced, with widespread destruction and severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter as aid agencies scramble to get help to those in need.

Israel says 94 hostages are still being held by Hamas, 34 of whom are believed to be dead. In addition, there are four Israelis abducted before the war, two of whom are already dead.