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By Andrew Mills, Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Mayan Lubel
DOHA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel stepped up its attacks on Gaza hours after a cease-fire and hostage-release deal was announced, residents and officials in the Palestinian territory said, and mediators sought to cool the fighting before a war broke out on Sunday.
A complex cease-fire agreement between Israel and the militant group Hamas that controls Gaza emerged Wednesday after months of mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the United States and 15 months of bloodshed that ravaged the coast and set the Middle East on fire.
The agreement outlines a six-week ceasefire that follows the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands of people have been killed. The hostages taken by Hamas will release the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said in a press conference in Doha that the ceasefire agreement will come into effect next Sunday. Negotiators said they were working with Israel and Hamas to implement the deal.
US President Joe Biden said in Washington, “This deal will end the war in Gaza, restart much-needed humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months of captivity.”
His successor, Donald Trump, took office on Monday and praised the turnaround in Gaza.
An Israeli official said Israel’s acceptance of the deal will not be made official until it is approved by the country’s security cabinet and government.
It is expected that the agreement will be approved despite the opposition of some hard-line parties in the coalition government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
As people in Gaza and Israel celebrated the deal, the Israeli army stepped up its attacks after the announcement, civil emergency services and residents said.
Heavy Israeli bombardment, particularly in Gaza City, killed 32 people on Wednesday, medical experts said. The attacks continued early Thursday morning, and residents said homes in Rafah in southern Gaza, Nussarat in central Gaza and northern Gaza were destroyed.
Hamas has not reported any attacks on Israel since the Israeli army announced a cease-fire.
A Palestinian official close to the ceasefire talks said mediators were trying to convince both sides to end the fighting before the ceasefire could take effect.
JUBILATION in Gaza
In social media posts, some Gazans urged Palestinians to exercise caution, believing that Israel could intensify its attacks in the next few days before the ceasefire begins.
Nevertheless, news of the ceasefire sparked excitement in Gaza, where Palestinians face shortages of food, water, shelter and fuel. In Khan Younis, the crowd blocked the road with shouting, waving Palestinian flags and dancing to the sound of trumpets.
“I am happy. Yes, I am crying, but they are tears of joy,” said Gada, a mother of five.
In Tel Aviv, families and friends of the Israeli hostages similarly welcomed the news, saying they were “overjoyed and relieved at the agreement to bring our loved ones home.”
In a social media statement announcing the ceasefire, Hamas called the deal “a success for our people” and “a turning point”.
The cease-fire agreement would end a war that has devastated urbanized Gaza, killed more than 46,000 people and displaced most of its pre-war population of 2.3 million.
This could also add to the broader Middle East tensions that have led to conflict in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, as well as the threat of an all-out war between regional foes Israel and Iran.
While 98 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, phase one of the deal includes the release of 33, including all women, children and men over 50. Two American hostages, Keith Siegel and Sagi Dekel-Chen, were among those released. The first phase, says a source.
Food lined up on the borders of Gaza
The agreement calls for an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross have announced that they are preparing to increase their aid activities.
“The ceasefire is the beginning – not the end. We have food lined up all the way to the borders of Gaza – and we need to be able to bring it in,” World Food Program Director-General Cindy McCain said on X.
The international response to the ceasefire has been interesting. Leaders and officials from Egypt, Turkey, Britain, the United Nations, the European Union, Jordan, Germany and the United Arab Emirates celebrated the news.
Both Biden and Trump have expressed gratitude for the deal, which has been in the works for months, but was helped online by a Trump emissary.
Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, was in Qatar for the talks with the White House delegation, and a senior Biden administration official said Witkoff’s presence was critical to reaching an agreement after 96 hours of intense negotiations.
Biden said the two groups were “speaking as one.”
Israeli hostages have expressed concern that the deal may not be fully implemented and that some hostages may remain in Gaza.
Negotiations to implement the second phase of the agreement will begin on the 16th, and this phase is expected to include the release of all remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The third step is to return the remaining bodies and begin the reconstruction of Gaza under the control of Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.
If all goes well, the Palestinians, Arab states and Israel still need to agree on a vision for post-war Gaza, including the unanswered question of who will lead Gaza after the war.
In the year On October 7, 2023, Israeli forces invaded Gaza after Hamas-led militants infiltrated communities near the Israeli border, killing 1,200 soldiers and civilians and taking more than 250 hostages.
