Humanitarian aid organizations welcomed the news that Israel and Hamas had "signed off" on the first phase of an agreement in Gaza, paving the way for a ceasefire . The Israeli government is expected to ratify the deal on Thursday, after which a ceasefire is expected to come into effect. Since Israel broke an earlier ceasefire agreement in mid-March, which led to an 11-week halt of all humanitarian aid entering Gaza, international aid organizations say the Israeli government has been allowing a small amount of aid into Gaza. Many groups say that they are ready to deliver food, clean water, medicine and other provisions to the millions of Palestinians who are in need. The Israeli government has denied that it is limiting the amount of aid entering Gaza and has claimed Hamas steals aid meant

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