Pakistan has welcomed the Gaza ceasefire reached on January 15 and called for its “immediate and full implementation” as Palestinians reported casualties in fresh Israeli strikes hours before the cabinet meets to vote on the truce deal.

“It is hoped that the truce would lead to a permanent ceasefire and help in scaling up humanitarian assistance,” the Foreign Office said in a statement on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the warring side Israel and Hamas, which controls Gaza, reached a ceasefire after months of mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the US and 15 months of bloodshed that devastated the coastal territory and inflamed the Middle East.

The deal outlines a six-week initial ceasefire with the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands have been killed. Hostages taken by Hamas would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

At a news conference in Doha, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the ceasefire would take effect on Sunday.

But Israel intensified strikes on Gaza hours after the deal was announced, residents and authorities in the Palestinian enclave said.

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Israel’s acceptance of the deal would not be official until it is approved by the country’s security cabinet and government, with votes slated for Thursday, an Israeli official told Reuters.

“Indiscriminate use of force by Israeli occupation forces has caused unprecedented loss of lives and property and displacement of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilian Palestinians. Israel’s expansionist designs have destabilised the entire region,” the FO said.

Pakistan reiterated its support for a “just, comprehensive, and durable solution to the Palestinian issue, leading to the establishment of a sovereign State of Palestine based on pre-June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.”