Hamas warns continuing Israeli 'aggression' endangers hostages

"Any aggression and shelling at this stage by the enemy could turn the freedom of a prisoner into a tragedy," the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said on Telegram, referring to the dozens of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war.

Without offering details, Abu Obeida, spokesman for the armed wing, said an Israeli strike had hit a place where one of the women to be freed "in the first stage of the ceasefire deal was located".

On Wednesday, mediators Qatar and the United States announced that both Israel and Hamas had agreed to a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Since then, Gaza's civil defence agency reported that Israel had "escalated" its strikes across the territory, reporting at least 80 killed and hundreds more wounded.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said on Thursday that its teams had recovered the bodies of five children after a strike on the northern city of Jabalia.

The Israeli military said that it had conducted strikes on "approximately 50 terror targets across the Gaza Strip" since late Wednesday.