Hours after a ceasefire and hostage release deal was announced, Israel intensified strikes on Gaza, residents and authorities in the Palestinian enclave said, and mediators sought to quell fighting ahead of the truce’s start on Sunday, Reuters reports.

While people celebrated the pact in Gaza and Israel, Israel’s military escalated attacks after the announcement, the civil emergency service and residents said.

Heavy Israeli bombardment, especially in Gaza City, killed 32 people late last night, medics said. The strikes continued earlier today and destroyed houses in Rafah in southern Gaza, Nuseirat in central Gaza and in northern Gaza, residents said.

Israel’s military made no immediate comment and there were no reports of Hamas attacks on Israel after the ceasefire announcement.

A Palestinian official close to the ceasefire negotiations said mediators were seeking to persuade both sides to suspend hostilities ahead of the ceasefire going into effect.

 A wounded Palestinian child is assisted at a hospital following an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, on January 15, 2025. — Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A wounded Palestinian child is assisted at a hospital following an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, on January 15, 2025. — Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas

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