Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday accused Hamas of reneging on a cease-fire agreement aimed at releasing hostages and pausing over a year of conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu’s office indicated that his Cabinet would not convene to vote on the Gaza cease-fire deal until Hamas retracts what they labeled as a “last minute crisis.”
Without providing details, Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of attempting to backtrack on parts of the agreement to “extort last minute concessions.”
Initially, the Israeli Cabinet was prepared to ratify the deal on Thursday.
ISRAEL-HAMAS CEASE-FIRE, HOSTAGE RELEASE DEAL REACHED: ‘AMERICANS WILL BE PART OF THAT’
President Biden, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, held a press conference on Wednesday to announce that the deal would be implemented in three phases.
Biden stated that the first phase would last six weeks and “includes a full and complete cease-fire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza, and the release of several hostages held by Hamas, including women, the elderly, and the wounded. I am proud to say that Americans will also be part of that hostage release in phase one, and the vice president and I eagerly await their return home,” he said.
In return, Israel has released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and Palestinians “can also return to their neighborhoods across Gaza, with a surge of humanitarian assistance beginning to flow into the region,” Biden noted.
Izzat al-Rishq, a senior official from Hamas, affirmed that the militant organization “is committed to the ceasefire agreement as announced by the mediators.”
‘WORST FAREWELL SPEECH IN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY’: BIDEN’S OVAL OFFICE GOODBYE PANNED AS ‘DARK’
Earlier, Netanyahu’s office had blamed Hamas for retracing an earlier understanding which would provide Israel a veto over the release of prisoners convicted of murder in exchange for hostages.
According to the cease-fire deal, 33 hostages are expected to be released over the next six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Israeli forces will retreat from various regions, allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to their homes, and humanitarian aid will surge into Gaza.
The remaining hostages, including male soldiers, are to be released in a subsequent phase, which will be negotiated during the first phase. Hamas has stated it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops, whereas Israel has pledged to continue its operations until it dismantles Hamas and retains ongoing security control over the territory.
Netanyahu faces significant domestic pressure to secure the release of numerous hostages, yet his far-right coalition partners threaten to destabilize his government if he concedes too much. While he has sufficient opposition support to approve an agreement, doing so would weaken his coalition and likely trigger early elections.
‘LYING TO THE NATION’: TRUMP ORBIT SLAMS BIDEN FOR TAKING CREDIT FOR CEASEFIRE DEAL
In the meantime, Palestinians in Gaza reported intense Israeli bombardment while celebrating the ceasefire agreement. The Gaza Health Ministry reported that at least 48 individuals were killed in Israeli strikes from midday Wednesday to Thursday morning, with approximately half of the deceased being women and children, as stated by Zaher al-Wahedi, head of the ministry’s registration department. He cautioned that the death toll could rise as hospitals update their records.
Mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S. are set to convene in Cairo on Thursday to discuss implementing the agreement. They have spent the past year engaging in indirect negotiations with Israel and Hamas that ultimately led to this deal following numerous obstacles.
President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy participated in the discussions in the final weeks, with both the outgoing administration and Trump’s team claiming credit for this diplomatic breakthrough.
The Israeli offensive has resulted in over 46,000 fatalities in Gaza, predominantly women and children, according to the Health Ministry. The exact number of militants killed remains unclear, while Israel claims to have eliminated over 17,000 fighters, without presenting evidence.
The conflict has devastated extensive areas of Gaza and displaced approximately 90% of its 2.3 million residents, as reported by the United Nations.
