GAZA CITY, Palestine

At least 20 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday following the announcement of a cease-fire agreement that is set to take effect on Jan. 19.

Medical sources told Anadolu that 15 people, including women and children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a residential block in Gaza City’s Al-Nasr neighborhood.

Many others were injured, and several remain missing beneath the rubble.

A civil defense worker on the scene described the devastation.

“The Israeli army targeted a residential building, leading to a large number of casualties, mostly women and children. We are still recovering bodies from under the debris.”

A doctor at Gaza's Al-Ahli Arab Hospital reported an ongoing influx of victims.

“Despite the cease-fire announcement, families and children continue to arrive with injuries from Israeli airstrikes. We have already treated eight injured children.”

In another strike, Gaza’s civil defense reported that three members of the Nabeh family were killed when their home in Gaza City was hit.

Further south, in Khan Younis, two Palestinians were killed and others were injured when Israeli warplanes targeted the home of the Lahham family, according to Palestinian paramedics.

Witnesses told Anadolu that northern Gaza also came under heavy Israeli fire, with violent explosions and plumes of smoke seen rising from multiple areas.

The airstrikes occurred hours after Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced that mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the US had brokered a cease-fire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul