Israel strikes Gaza violating ceasefire deal - 71 killed
71 people were killed in the Gaza Strip strike by Israel after it announced a ceasefire deal, RIA Novosti reports citing Al Aqsa TV channel and the enclave's civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal.
"Since the ceasefire agreement was announced, the Zionist occupation forces have killed 71 people, including 61 in Gaza City," the spokesman said.
On January 16, Israel refused to approve the deal, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office accusing Hamas of "violating the agreement at the last moment." Tel Aviv demanded that the Palestinian movement confirmed the details of the agreement through intermediaries.
In his turn, Hamas Politburo member Izzat al-Rishk reaffirmed his commitment to the ceasefire deal.
Gaza Ceasefire Agreements
The parties to the conflict in the Gaza Strip - Israel and the Hamas movement - have agreed to a ceasefire with the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the United States. It is expected to come into effect on January 19, with the first stage of the truce lasting 42 days.
The draft agreement, received from a representative of the Palestinian Hamas movement, states the following:
- Israel will release a thousand prisoners from the Gaza Strip detained after October 8, 2023;
- Nine hostages will be released from the Gaza Strip in exchange for 110 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment in Israel;
- Israel will gradually reduce the number of its troops in the Philadelphia Corridor on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in the first stage of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
- As the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova noted, Russia expects that reaching an agreement between Israel and Hamas will help stabilize the situation in Gaza.
The diplomat recalled that the ultimate goal is the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem, coexisting in peace with Israel.