Israeli air strikes in Gaza continue, resulting in the deaths of at least 80 Palestinians, despite a ceasefire agreement and a hostage deal with Hamas set to take effect on Sunday, pending approval from the Israeli cabinet.
The strikes claimed 73 lives overnight after the announcement of the ceasefire deal, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency. Among the victims were 12 people living in a residential building in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, the health ministry reported.
Initially, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) stated that “a fallen projectile” had been discovered in southern Israel on Thursday, but later corrected their statement, acknowledging it had been misidentified.
Dr. Amjad Eliwah, a doctor at Gaza City’s Baptist Hospital, described the chaotic situation, saying the medical staff “did not rest for even a minute” during the “bloody night.” “The injured kept pouring in,” he told the BBC. “The dead were sent straight to the morgue.”
While the announcement of the ceasefire initially brought some relief and joy, Dr. Eliwah noted the tragic irony: “For a brief moment, there was happiness, but then those same people who were happy ended up dead.”
