Israel kills 75 Palestinians amidst ceasefire deal

Israel carried out fresh air strikes on Gaza on Thursday and accused Hamas of backtracking on parts of a fragile ceasefire and hostage release deal ahead of an expected vote by its cabinet. The truce, announced by mediators Qatar and the United States on Wednesday, would take effect on Sunday and involve the exchange of […]

Israel carried out fresh air strikes on Gaza on Thursday and accused Hamas of backtracking on parts of a fragile ceasefire and hostage release deal ahead of an expected vote by its cabinet.

The truce, announced by mediators Qatar and the United States on Wednesday, would take effect on Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be finalised.

But the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Hamas had “reneged on parts of the agreement reached… in an effort to extort last-minute concessions”.

It also said that the Israeli cabinet, which has yet to approve the agreement, “will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement”.

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Hamas political bureau member Sami Abu Zuhri said there was “no basis” for Israel’s accusations.

In Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israel pounded several areas of the territory after the deal was announced, killing at least 75 people and wounding hundreds more.

In Israel and Gaza, there were celebrations welcoming the truce deal, but also anguish.

Saeed Alloush, who lives in north Gaza, said he and his loved ones were “waiting for the truce and were happy”, until overnight strikes killed his relatives.

“It was the happiest night since October 7” until “we received the news of the martyrdom of 40 people from the Alloush family”, he said.

The agreement followed months of fruitless negotiations to end the deadliest war in Gaza’s history and, if finalised, would pause hostilities one day before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

The Israeli leader’s office said Netanyahu spoke with both US President Joe Biden and Trump on Wednesday. Netanyahu thanked them for their help securing the agreement but also cautioned that “final details” were still being worked on.

The war was triggered by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

During the attack, the deadliest in Israeli history, Palestinian militants also took 251 people hostage, 94 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s ensuing campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,788 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.