Gaza civil defence officials said Sunday that nine people were killed in strikes that hit multiple residential buildings around midnight. Palestinian health officials said Israeli warplanes carried out separate strikes across the enclave in the northern Gaza City, central city of Deir al-Balah and the southern area of Khan Younis.
In one attack near the central Gaza Strip, a man and his wife were killed and several others were wounded when an Israeli military helicopter struck an apartment, a civil defence spokesman said. A father, mother and their 9-year-old son were killed around dawn after a strike on a house in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis.
Read moreHamas agrees to disarm under Trump ceasefire deal
Gaza authorities earlier said that seven people were killed in Israeli strikes on Saturday that also damaged a hospital's medical supplies, a day after Hamas said it agreed to the latest stage of a deal to end the war.
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for Gaza's civil defence agency, told reporters that two people were killed and several injured in a strike by Israeli warplanes on a rooftop southwest of Gaza City. Al-Shifa Hospital reported two dead from the rooftop strike.
The Israeli military, for its part, said it had struck Hamas weapons depots.
The latest strikes come after Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to the latest phase of a deal championed by US President Donald Trump that includes provisions for handing over its weapons and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
Read moreWhat we know about the Hamas disarmament deal announced by Trump
Israel has yet to officially comment on the agreement, but a political source told reporters "that there will be no withdrawal whatsoever" without Hamas's "genuine disarmament".
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said on Sunday that no deal is in place to halt attacks on Gaza and that Israel, which already controls 70 percent of the Gaza Strip, should take full control of the enclave. Cohen is a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet, a small circle of ministers that oversees security and diplomatic policy.
'Obliterated'
Among other incidents on Saturday, the civil defence agency said two people were killed and several injured when Israel hit near a pharmacy northwest of Gaza City. The Al-Shifa Hospital identified the bodies of two people from that strike. The civil defence agency serves as a rescue service under Hamas.
When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was "aware of one strike in the area on a Hamas terrorist".
In a statement, the military also said that it had struck several areas across Gaza and dismantled five Hamas weapons storage facilities.
It said that one weapons storage facility it struck was next to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and had been "used as a hideout by Hamas terrorists".
Israel has repeatedly accused the militants of using civilian infrastructure to conceal fighters and weapons, and to stage operations.
AFP footage from the site showed a huge crater in the ground, next to which dozens of Palestinians sifted through what appeared to be medical supplies that had been scattered by the blast.
The Palestinian health ministry condemned "the heinous crime committed by Israeli occupation forces" which it said had "obliterated two of the four warehouses" for medical supplies, severely damaged the other two and damaged the adjacent outpatient clinic building.
"Vital quantities of medical consumables and supplies intended for the care of patients and the wounded were lost or destroyed," it added.
Restrictions imposed on media outlets and limited access in Gaza prevent AFP from independently verifying tolls or freely covering the violence there.
'I hope the war ends'
People in Gaza, where the vast majority of people have been displaced in the war, voiced only guarded hope for the latest stage of the agreement.
Jaber Abed, 33, said he and his family had fled their tent next to the hospital at dawn.
"I hope the war truly ends and that we can live like human beings," he told reporters, but added he was not hopeful that Israel would implement the ceasefire agreement without pressure from Trump.
Abdullah Al-Hou, 33, who is from northern Gaza and displaced in Deir al-Balah, said the people of Gaza were "living between hope and fear".
"Talking about a timeline for implementing the agreement is a positive step, but the continued air strikes, shelling and gunfire make everyone hesitant to believe that the war is truly nearing its end," he said.
"We want a genuine ceasefire because every hour of delay means more victims."
Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim told reporters on Saturday that "the ball is currently in the Israeli occupation's court" and called on mediators to "pressure Israel to halt violations and breaches of the ceasefire".
At least 1,230 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since a ceasefire was reached in October.
(the broadcaster with AFP, Reuters)
