Gaza ceasefire deal latest: Hamas says Israel targeted location where hostage is being held

Israeli airstrikes have continued despite reaching a preliminary agreement with Hamas over a temporary pause in fighting. 

The deal, once ratified, would kick in on Sunday. 

More than 70 people have died since the agreement was made, according to Hamas-run agencies in the territory. 

The Israel Defence Forces has said it carried out some 50 airstrikes on Gaza in the past 24 hours.

Some of those took place after the agreement of a ceasefire was reached in Qatar last night.

“The IAF conducted strikes on approximately 50 terror targets across the Gaza Strip, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists, military compounds, weapons storage facilities, launch posts, weapons manufacturing sites, and observation posts,” the IDF said in a statement. 

It also claimed to have killed Muhammad Hasham Zahedi Abu al Rus, “a Nukhba terrorist who infiltrated into Israel on 7 October 2023 and participated in the massacre at the Nova Music Festival”. 

As the world watches to see if a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas will hold, British families of hostages still being held in Gaza will be among those anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones.

Of the 94 hostages still believed to be held by Hamas, 33 are to be released in stages during the first phase of the deal, which could begin on Sunday.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said it has been a period of “unbearable trauma” for the hostages and their families, and added: “We will play our full part in the coming days and weeks, working alongside our partners, to seize this chance for a better future.”

Of the hostages who have not yet been returned home, it is believed one is a British citizen, while others have family members living in the UK.

Read about them here. 

Earlier, we brought you some reaction from the Middle East as leaders responded to the ceasefire agreement.

Here is the view from Europe. 

The UK welcomed the ceasefire agreement, adding a call for a two-state solution.

“This is the long-overdue news that the Israeli and Palestinian people have desperately been waiting for,” Sir Keir Starmer said. 

“Our attention must turn to how we secure a permanently better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people.”

French President Emmanuel Macron echoed Starmer on X: “The deal must be respected. The hostages, freed. The Gazans, rescued. A political solution must be found.”

Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz said on X: “This agreement must now be implemented to the letter.”

Since agreeing to a ceasefire last night, Israel has targeted a location in Gaza where a female hostage is being held, a spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas has said. 

“After announcing the agreement, the enemy army targeted a place where one of the female prisoners of the first stage of the expected deal was located,”  Abu Obeida of al Qassam Brigades said in a statement. 

It appeared to suggest Israel used an airstrike, rather than a targeted raid. 

“Any aggression and shelling at this stage by the enemy could turn the freedom of a prisoner into a tragedy,” he added. 

Israel is yet to comment on the Hamas claims. 

After 15 months of bloodshed, have Israel and Hamas finally reached a lasting ceasefire?

Richard Engel in Jerusalem gauges the reaction of Israelis and Palestinians, while Yalda Hakim reports from Doha where the truce was negotiated.  

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To get in touch or to share questions for Richard and Yalda, email theworld@sky.uk.

Click here to visit their YouTube channel where you can watch all the episodes.

Episodes of The World With Richard Engel And Yalda Hakim will be available every Wednesday on all podcast platforms. 

Regional leaders have been reacting to the ceasefire agreement. 

Egypt, which was heavily involved in the negotiations, welcomed the deal, with President Abdel Fattah el Sisi adding that the two-state solution had to be reached to “enjoy stability”. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said on X:”We hope that the agreement will be beneficial for our region and all of humanity.”

Iran, which suffered serious damage by the weakening of its proxy militias, Hezbollah and Hamas, also welcomed the deal.

Lebanon’s president Jospeh Aoun, urged caution on X, saying Israel’s commitments need to be monitored.

Afghanistan’s foreign ministry hailed “the legendary patience of the Palestinian people”.

Stephen Brisley, whose brother-in-law is being held in Gaza by Hamas, has told Sky News of the agony of “limbo” as uncertainty continues over the prospect of a ceasefire deal.  

Eli Sharabi was taken alive as a hostage on 7 October, but his daughters were killed by Hamas, Brisley said.  

“At his core, he’s a family man and we don’t know whether he knows the family he holds so dear to his heart has been wiped out,” he said. 

They’ve also got no confirmation that he’s still alive, as Hamas have offered no proof of life. 

“We don’t know whether we’re bringing him out to welcome him home or to bury him.”

It could possibly take weeks or months for Hamas to release him, so Brisley is keen to make sure the family are prepared for any eventuality. 

“Even if he is alive today there’s no guarantee that he will be alive in several weeks time, so we’re having to temper our elation at the prospect of him coming home with the very real possibility that he’s not alive.” 

Hundreds of protesters have gathered in Jerusalem to demonstrate against the ceasefire deal, believing it is bad for Israel and that they have surrendered to Hamas. 

Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall reports from the site of one protest: