The Gaza Strip ceasefire should begin on Sunday as planned, despite the need for negotiators to tie up a "loose end" at the last minute, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.

The strikes came despite the ceasefire agreement announced on Wednesday after weeks of intense negotiations in Doha, Qatar ... previous Israeli strikes in Gaza City on Jan. 16, 2025.

If successful, the cease-fire deal would cap over a year of stop-start talks and lead to the biggest release of Israeli hostages since the early days of the conflict, when Hamas freed about half of its prisoners in exchange for 240 Palestinian detainees held by Israel.

The complex accord emerged Wednesday after months of mediation by Qatar, Egypt & the US. Israeli bombardment, especially in Gaza City, killed 32 people hours later, medics say.

Qatar says it is hopeful that a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal could be agreed "very soon", with negotiators from Israel and Hamas beginning a "final stage" of indirect talks in Doha.

Mediators have given Israel and Hamas a final draft of a deal to end the war in Gaza, according to an officia, after a "breakthrough" in talks.

Rockets fired from Gaza and intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system over Israeli skies are seen from Gaza City, on May 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File) DOHA, Qatar — Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal to pause the devastating war in the Gaza Strip,

The deal promises the release of dozens of hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and would flood badly needed humanitarian aid into a devastated territory.

President Joe Biden and his top diplomats, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, had sought closure during his term.

Behind-the-scenes manoeuvrings by the Reagan campaign and Team Trump clinched deals in the eleventh hour, showing Jimmy Carter and Joe Biden in a poor light

Israel's deadly West Bank raids come as Qatari and Egyptian Prime Ministers could start talks over the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire