At least 30 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire agreement under US President Donald Trump's Gaza Peace Plan yesterday, CNN reported, citing a Palestinian health official. Residents had reported clouds of smoke and explosions in the enclave.
Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of the local Al-Shifa Hospital, said that 30 Palestinians have been killed since Wednesday evening, as reported by CNN.
Gaza's Civil Defence said that the military strike by Israel trapped over 40 Palestinians under the rubble in northern Gaza's Al-Sabra neighbourhood.
However, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that the attack was on a "Hamas terrorist cell" in northern Gaza that "posed an immediate threat", CNN reported, saying that it cannot verify the IDF's statement.
A video by Civil Defence depicts emergency crews attempting to rescue men, women and children from the rubble. In one clip, a rescue worker gently lifts a little boy from the razed house. The child's body is covered in a thick layer of dust and bloodied scrapes. He can be heard screaming, CNN reported.
Earlier, US President Trump on Wednesday announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a peace plan, which would end the war in Gaza with a ceasefire deal. In this, he said that the hostages will be released.
Later, the US President held a cabinet meeting at the White House on Thursday morning following the announcement that the "first phase" of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas would commence soon.
At the meeting, Trump said, "Last night, we reached a momentous breakthrough in the Middle East, something that people said was never going to be done. We ended the war in Gaza, and I think it's going to be a lasting peace, hopefully, an everlasting peace."
"We secured the release of all of the remaining hostages, and they should be released on Monday or Tuesday. Getting them is a complicated process...I'm going to try and make a trip over. We're going to try and get over there. We're working on the timing, the exact timing. We're going to go to Egypt, where we'll have a signing, an additional signing. We've already had a signing representing me, but we're going to have an official signing..." he said.
Trump also emphasised his administration's role in resolving global conflicts, stating that multiple wars had been brought to a close during his tenure.
During the meeting, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised the efforts of President Trump as Israel and Hamas agreed on the "first phase" of the Gaza ceasefire deal or "peace plan", saying that it was only possible due to Trump's involvement in forging "personal and close relationships" between partners in the Middle East region.
"It's not an exaggeration that none of it would have been possible without the President of the United States being involved. It really began with your trip to the Middle East, where these relationships were forged with partners in the region, personal and close relationships that created the foundation for all of this to be possible," Rubio said while addressing a cabinet meeting at the White House.
He said that the Gaza peace plan seemed impossible even a month ago, but was made possible with Trump convening a "historic" meeting of Muslim majority countries, including Indonesia and Pakistan, during his visit to the United Nations on September 23.
Rubio also mentioned the US president met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on September 29 and presented the Gaza peace plan.
"Where I think this really took a turn, remember a month ago, no one thought this was possible. It really took a turn about a month ago, less than a couple of weeks ago, when we were at the United Nations. You convened a historic meeting, not simply of Arab countries, but of Muslim majority countries from around the world, including Indonesia and Pakistan, and created this coalition behind this plan. Then, on the following Monday, you met with the Prime Minister of Israel here, and that plan was presented," he added.
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