At least 30 Palestinians have been killed and many more wounded in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, hours after Qatar announced a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that takes effect on Sunday.
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defense, said Israeli warplanes had intensified their attacks on several areas in Gaza. One strike in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in western Gaza killed 18 people and wounded 20.
He added that seven Palestinians were killed in an attack on a house in northern Gaza, while an attack targeting a house in the Al-Daraj area in eastern Gaza killed three more.
In addition, local sources at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, reported two casualties in an attack on a house in the Qizan Rashwan area south of the city.
The Israeli military has not yet commented on the attacks.
The airstrikes followed an announcement by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Wednesday night that Hamas and Israel had reached a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, along with a deal to release hostages. The agreement marks progress after about 15 months of devastating conflict.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a full-scale war against Hamas in Gaza, which has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians to date. The conflict began after Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 hostages were taken, Xinhua reported.
