'We see the coming hours will be bloody and harsh'

In Gaza, Palestinians brace for the crucial period before the fighting is expected to stop on Sunday, finds Bel Trew

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Anxious civilians in Gaza are “counting the seconds” until a ceasefire is enforced, as Israeli airstrikes continued to pound the besieged strip, killing dozens of people, according to local health officials.

International diplomats and mediators yesterday scrambled to salvage the truce between the Hamas militant group and Israel, which was announced by US president Joe Biden and the Qatari leadership on Wednesday.

Despite a wobble when Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas had attempted to “extort last-minute concessions”, the deal appeared back on track last night and is due to be ratified today with fighting set to cease on Sunday.

In war-ravaged Gaza, the health ministry said waves of Israeli airstrikes continued in the meantime, killing 77 people – half of them women and children.

“We see and expect that the coming hours before the ceasefire will be bloody and harsh,” said Dr Raed Musleh, 52, an internal medicine doctor, himself homeless and displaced in the southern city of Khan Younis, where he said medics lacked drugs to treat the wounded.

“We are used to the last hours being difficult and dangerous,” he added.