An Israeli cabinet meeting to approve a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas was delayed Thursday morning after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the militant group of “reneging” on parts of the agreement.
Netanyahu’s office said the cabinet would not convene until Hamas accepted all elements of the deal. A Hamas official said on social media that the group is committed to the agreement announced Wednesday. Neither provided any further details.
An official briefed on the talks, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations, said teams from both sides are continuing to meet to discuss how hostages and prisoners will be released, and to finalize details around the implementation and monitoring of the deal.
Ongoing negotiations in Doha mirrored intense talks in Jerusalem. The deal requires approval from Israel’s cabinet and its coalition government — but Netanyahu faces opposition from his far-right coalition partners, who reject the idea of a truce with Hamas and have threatened to topple his government.
If implemented Sunday as scheduled, the deal would bring relief to a battered and hungry population in Gaza, as well as to the captives taken from Israel and held in the enclave for more than 15 months. The agreement is expected to start with a 42-day ceasefire in which the Israeli military would withdraw from some areas of Gaza, accompanied by a surge of aid into the Gaza Strip, as well as an exchange of Israeli hostages held by Hamas for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, according to President Joe Biden.
The next phase, which is still being negotiated, would bring the release of all hostages, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire, Biden said. One of the parties in Netanyahu’s coalition said it would support the deal as long as Israel resumes fighting after the 42-day first phase of the ceasefire.
The Biden administration insisted Thursday that the deal is not coming apart. “I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin ... on Sunday,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a press briefing.
Netanyahu’s office said the cabinet would not convene until Hamas accepted all elements of the deal. A Hamas official said on social media that the group is committed to the agreement announced Wednesday. Neither provided any further details.
An official briefed on the talks, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations, said teams from both sides are continuing to meet to discuss how hostages and prisoners will be released, and to finalize details around the implementation and monitoring of the deal.
Ongoing negotiations in Doha mirrored intense talks in Jerusalem. The deal requires approval from Israel’s cabinet and its coalition government — but Netanyahu faces opposition from his far-right coalition partners, who reject the idea of a truce with Hamas and have threatened to topple his government.
If implemented Sunday as scheduled, the deal would bring relief to a battered and hungry population in Gaza, as well as to the captives taken from Israel and held in the enclave for more than 15 months. The agreement is expected to start with a 42-day ceasefire in which the Israeli military would withdraw from some areas of Gaza, accompanied by a surge of aid into the Gaza Strip, as well as an exchange of Israeli hostages held by Hamas for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, according to President Joe Biden.
The next phase, which is still being negotiated, would bring the release of all hostages, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire, Biden said. One of the parties in Netanyahu’s coalition said it would support the deal as long as Israel resumes fighting after the 42-day first phase of the ceasefire.
The Biden administration insisted Thursday that the deal is not coming apart. “I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin ... on Sunday,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a press briefing.
Here’s what else to know:
- In Gaza, celebrations were tempered by continuing Israeli airstrikes ahead of the deal’s commencement. The spokesman for Gaza’s Civil Defense, Mahmoud Basel, said Thursday afternoon that at least 77 people have been killed and more than 250 wounded since the agreement was announced the previous evening, including 21 children and 25 women.
- The first six weeks of the deal are expected to involve the release of 33 hostages including Americans Keith Siegel and Sagui Dekel-Chen, said a senior Biden administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the White House.
- At least 46,778 people have been killed in Gaza and 110,453 injured during the war, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children.
- Israeli officials say they believe 98 hostages remain in Gaza and that about 60 are still alive. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack, including more than 300 soldiers. It says 405 soldiers have been killed in its military operation in Gaza.
