Israeli forces killed at least 87 Palestinians, including numerous children, in the hours after officials announced that Israel and Hamas have reached a long-awaited ceasefire deal on Wednesday, according to Gaza authorities.
At least 23 of those killed are children, Gaza’s officials said on Thursday. Fifty people had been killed since dawn on Thursday, per Palestinian newswire Wafa. It’s possible that this is not reflective of all of the killings since the ceasefire was announced on Wednesday evening, since Israel has dismantled Gaza’s health system and, therefore, severely hampered officials’ ability to count deaths.
Additionally, at least 188 Palestinians have been injured by Israeli strikes since the ceasefire was announced, health officials said.
According to CNN, this is the largest single-day death toll in 11 days.
“Israeli tanks are ceaselessly shelling central Gaza along with nonstop gunfire by quadcopters and Apache helicopters,” wrote Palestinian journalist Abubaker Abed on Thursday. “Reportedly, Israeli snipers are located along the northwestern line to snipe people moving outside during these critical times. It’s a very horrific night.”
The killings come as Palestinians report that Israel has intensified the attacks in anticipation of the ceasefire deal being implemented — a common practice for Israel when ceasefire deals or deadlines are imminent. Israel also carried out a strike in the West Bank as the deal was being announced on Wednesday, killing five Palestinians.
According to officials representing negotiating parties, the first portion of a three-phased ceasefire deal is slated to go into effect on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet is expected to authorize the deal in a vote. Netanyahu has delayed the vote, with media outlets reporting that it is slated to take place on Friday.
The Israeli leader blamed Hamas for the delay; but, Israeli media have reported that it is, in fact, Netanyahu who has thrown in a last-minute demand even after the deal was announced.
According to Israeli outlets, Netanyahu’s office and Israeli officials said that they would not withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor during the first phase of the ceasefire, slated to take place over six weeks. However, reports of the ceasefire deal, which has not been released in full, ahead of the announcement found that Israeli forces are supposed to reduce their presence in the corridor during the first phase, and totally withdraw by the 50th day.
U.S. officials have expressed confidence that the vote will move forward and that the ceasefire will still begin on Sunday. In the first phase, fighting, including Israel’s vast bombing campaign, is supposed to come to an end, while the agreement mandates that Israel allow a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has said that he will resign from his position if the ceasefire deal goes through. Ben-Gvir is one of the most extremist members of Netanyahu’s cabinet and has previously called for Israeli settlement of Gaza.
The ceasefire, if implemented, could provide an immense amount of relief to Palestinians in Gaza, who have spent the last 15 months running from death around every corner.
However, the success of the ceasefire highly depends on Israel’s compliance with the agreement. Israel has a reputation for violating international mandates and agreements, and signaled before the Gaza ceasefire deal was announced that it intends to violate its ceasefire deal with Lebanon.
Some analysts have pointed out that Israel has no incentive to adhere during the later stages of the agreement, which call for a full Israeli withdrawal and an indefinite ceasefire, after the remaining Israeli captives are released; if Israel resumes the slaughter, it would essentially make the deal a pause instead of a ceasefire. Israeli officials have faced pressure from the Israeli public and families of captives to agree to a ceasefire in order to secure a detainee exchange.
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