Israel strikes in Gaza kill dozens after ceasefire deal

Israel air strikes have killed at least 70 people in Gaza, authorities in the enclave say, in the hours after a ceasefire and hostage release deal was announced to bring an end to 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas.

The complex ceasefire accord emerged on Wednesday after mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the US to stop the war that has devastated the coastal territory and inflamed the Middle East.

The deal, scheduled to be implemented from Sunday, outlines a six-week initial ceasefire with the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands have been killed.

Hostages taken by militant group Hamas, which controls the enclave, would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel.

Israel's acceptance of the deal would not be official until it was approved by the security cabinet and government in a vote on Thursday, an Israeli official said.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of making last-minute demands and going back on agreements.

"The Israeli cabinet will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement," Netanyahu's office said, although it was unclear what impact the latest delay will have on the deal.

Hamas was committed to the ceasefire agreement announced on Wednesday, senior group official Izzat el-Reshiq said.

Hardliners in Netanyahu's government have threatened to quit the coalition if the ceasefire goes ahead, though most ministers are expected to back it.

While people celebrated the pact in Gaza and Israel, Israel's military conducted more attacks, Palestinian officials said.

The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said 71 Palestinians had been killed and at least 200 others wounded.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports.

In Doha, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said negotiators were working with Israel and Hamas on steps to implement the agreement.

"This deal will halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much-needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity," US President Joe Biden said.

His successor, Donald Trump, takes office on Monday and claimed credit for the breakthrough in Gaza.

Israel secured major gains over Iran and its proxies, mainly Hezbollah, as the conflict spread, while in Gaza, Hamas was crippled, but has been left standing.

News of the ceasefire deal sparked jubilation in Gaza, where Palestinians have faced severe shortages of food, water, shelter and fuel.

In Tel Aviv, families of Israeli hostages likewise welcomed the news, saying in a statement they felt "overwhelming joy and relief (about) the agreement to bring our loved ones home".

If successful, the ceasefire will halt fighting that has razed much of heavily urbanised Gaza, killed more than 46,000 people, and displaced most of the enclave's pre-war population of 2.3 million, according to Gaza authorities.

That in turn could defuse tensions across the wider Middle East, where the war has stoked conflict in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and raised fears of all-out war between arch regional foes Israel and Iran.

With 98 Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza, phase one of the deal entails the release of 33 of them, including all women, children and men over 50.

The agreement calls for a surge in humanitarian assistance to Gaza, and the UN and the Red Cross said they were preparing to scale up their aid operations.

Global reaction to the ceasefire was enthusiastic.

Israeli troops invaded Gaza after Hamas-led gunmen burst into Israeli border-area communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1200 soldiers and civilians and abducting more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Negotiations on implementing the second phase of the deal will begin by the 16th day of phase one, and this stage was expected to include the release of all remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The third stage is to address the return of all remaining dead bodies and the start of Gaza's reconstruction supervised by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.