By Andrew Mills, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell
DOHA/CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel stepped up airstrikes in Gaza hours after a ceasefire and the release of hostages were announced, residents and authorities in the Palestinian enclave said, as mediators tried to quell fighting before a truce began on Sunday.
A comprehensive cease-fire agreement between Israel and the Hamas militant group that controls Gaza was reached on Wednesday after months of mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the US and 15 months of bloodshed that devastated the coastal territory and set the Middle East on fire.
The agreement outlines a six-week initial ceasefire with a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands of people have been killed. Hostages captured by Hamas would be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
At a news conference in Doha, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the ceasefire would take effect on Sunday. Negotiators are working with Israel and Hamas on steps to implement the deal, he said.
“This agreement will end the fighting in Gaza, increase much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity,” US President Joe Biden said in Washington.
His successor, Donald Trump, takes office on Monday and has taken credit for the breakthrough in Gaza.
Israel's acceptance of the deal will not be official until it is approved by the country's security cabinet and government, with a vote scheduled for Thursday, an Israeli official said.
The deal was expected to win approval despite opposition from some hardliners in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government.
Once the Biden and Trump administrations began working hand-in-hand to justify the urgency, significant progress was made in negotiations, outgoing US ambassador to Israel Jack Lew told Reuters.
As people celebrated the pact in Gaza and Israel, the Israeli military escalated attacks following the announcement, civilian emergency services and residents said.
Heavy Israeli bombardment, mainly in Gaza City, killed 32 people late Wednesday, medics said. Attacks continued early Thursday, destroying homes in Rafah in southern Gaza, Nuseirat in central Gaza and northern Gaza, residents said.
Israel's military says militants from Gaza fired a rocket at Israel on Thursday, causing no casualties
JUBILEE IN GAZA
In social media posts, some Gazans urged Palestinians to exercise caution in the belief that Israel could step up attacks in the next few days to maximize gains before the ceasefire begins.
However, news of the cease-fire agreement caused jubilation in Gaza, where Palestinians faced severe shortages of food, water, shelter and fuel. In Khan Younis, crowds jammed the streets to the sound of horns as they cheered, waved Palestinian flags and danced.
“I am happy. Yes, I am crying, but they are tears of joy,” said Ghada, a displaced mother of five.
Also in Tel Aviv, the families of the Israeli hostages and their friends welcomed the news, saying in a statement that they felt “overwhelming joy and relief (at) the agreement to bring our loved ones home.”
In a statement on social media announcing the ceasefire, Hamas called the pact “a success for our people” and a “turning point”.
If successful, the truce will halt fighting that Gaza authorities say has destroyed much of heavily urbanized Gaza, killed more than 46,000 people and displaced most of the tiny enclave's pre-war population of 2.3 million.
That in turn could ease tensions in the wider Middle East, where the war has fueled conflict in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq and raised fears of an all-out war between arch-regional foes Israel and Iran.
With 98 Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza, the first phase of the deal means the release of 33 of them, including all women, children and men over 50. Two American hostages, Keith Siegel and Sagui Dekel-Chen, were among those expected to be released in the year of the first phase, the source said.
FOOD BROKEN ON THE GAZA BORDERS
The agreement calls for a sharp increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross have said they are preparing to expand their aid operations.
The global response to the ceasefire was rapturous. Leaders and representatives of Egypt, Turkey, Britain, the United Nations, the European Union, Jordan, Germany and the United Arab Emirates, among others, celebrated the news.
Both Biden and Trump took credit for the deal, which was months in the making but was helped over the line by a Trump emissary.
Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was in Qatar along with White House envoys for talks, and a senior Biden administration official said Witkoff's presence was essential to reaching a deal after 96 hours of intense negotiations.
Biden said the two teams “spoke as one.”
The Israeli families of the 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 would begin on the 16th day of the first phase, and this phase was supposed to include the release of all remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The third phase is to address the return of all remaining dead bodies and the start of the reconstruction of Gaza under the supervision of Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.
If all goes well, the Palestinians, Arab states and Israel have yet to agree on a vision for a post-war Gaza, including the unanswered question of who will govern Gaza after the war.
Israeli troops invaded Gaza after Hamas-led militants invaded Israeli communities in the border areas on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 soldiers and civilians and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli records.
