Gaza, Jan 17 (IANS) The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced that the Israeli army bombed a site in the Gaza Strip where an Israeli captive, scheduled for release in the first phase of an upcoming prisoner exchange, was being held.

Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for Al-Qassam, said that the Israeli army targeted a location holding one of the captives set to be released in the initial phase of the exchange deal shortly after the agreement was announced, Xinhua news agency reported.

He considered that "any aggression or bombing at this stage by the enemy could turn the freedom of a captive into a tragedy."

The statement provided no further details about the incident, the health condition of the Israeli captive, or the targeted location.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza announced today that 73 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Strip since the ceasefire agreement was declared.

In a press statement, Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said, "Since the announcement of the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli army has killed 73 people as of this morning, including 61 in Gaza City alone."

Among the victims were 20 children and 25 women, in addition to 230 others wounded to varying degrees, according to Basal.

Last night, Egypt, Qatar, and the US announced in a joint statement that both sides of the conflict in Gaza had reached an agreement for a prisoner exchange and a return to sustained calm, paving the way for a permanent ceasefire. The agreement is set to take effect on January 19.

Egypt, Qatar, and the US have been mediating efforts to end the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

Since October 7, 2023, Hamas and Israel have been locked in a devastating war that has claimed the lives of over 46,700 Palestinians in Gaza and caused widespread destruction.

The conflict erupted after Hamas launched a surprise attack on towns in southern Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking around 250 hostages.

Meanwhile, Israel's military said it struck about 50 sites across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, a day after it agreed to a ceasefire deal with Hamas.

In a statement, the military said the strikes targeted a militant who took part in the Hamas-led onslaught on Israeli communities in October 2023. The militant "participated in the massacre at the Nova Music Festival," the military said.

It also attacked other Hamas and Islamic Jihad military compounds, weapons storage and manufacturing facilities, launch posts, and observation posts, according to the statement.

In an update earlier on Thursday, Gaza's health authorities said that Israeli airstrikes in the besieged Palestinian enclave had killed 81 people and injured nearly 200 others over the past day.

Courtesy Media Group: IANS

Words: 436