At least 70 Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes amid ceasefire deal delay

Israel airstrikes killed at least 70 more people in Gaza overnight and during Thursday, Reuters reports residents and authorities in the territory said, hours after a prospective ceasefire and hostage release deal was announced to bring an end to 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas which has devastated the Gaza Strip and triggered a humanitarian crisis.

The deal is yet to be formally agreed, with Israel’s security cabinet delaying a planned Thursday morning meeting. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said “Hamas reneges on parts of the agreement reached with the mediators and Israel in an effort to extort last minute concessions. The Israeli cabinet will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement.”

This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on 16 January.
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on 16 January. Photograph: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images
Hamas has said it is committed to the ceasefire agreement announced by mediators on Wednesday, with Reuters citing senior group official Izzat el-Reshiq making the comment on Thursday morning.

Protests were staged on Thursday morning in Jerusalem opposing the deal, with the families of Israeli soldiers killed during the conflict placing mock coffins draped in Israeli flags in the street.

A demonstrator stands amid mock coffins draped in Israeli flags to protest the ceasefire with Hamas outside the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on 16 January.
A demonstrator stands amid mock coffins draped in Israeli flags to protest the ceasefire with Hamas outside the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on 16 January. Photograph: John Wessels/AFP/Getty Images
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.

An earlier report by Israel’s military of a falling projectile at a kibbutz close to the border with the Gaza Strip was later determined to be a false identification.

Relatives of Palestinian journalist Ahmed Al-Shayah mourn next to his body after he was killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 16 January.

Relatives of Palestinian journalist Ahmed Al-Shayah mourn next to his body after he was killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 16 January. Photograph: Haitham Imad/EPA
It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.

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