Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says Cabinet will not meet on Gaza ceasefire

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a “last-minute crisis” with Hamas was delaying Israel’s approval of a long-awaited deal to suspend fighting in the Gaza Strip and free dozens of hostages. Israeli airstrikes have killed dozens of people in the war-torn territory.

Netanyahu’s office said his cabinet would not meet to approve the deal until Hamas backs down, accusing it of going back on parts of the deal in an effort to extract further concessions, without more details.

Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, said the militant group “is committed to the ceasefire agreement announced by the mediators.”

US President Joe Biden and Qatar, key mediator announced the agreement on Wednesdaywhich aims to free many hostages held in Gaza and end a 15-month war that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked protests around the world.

Netanyahu’s office previously accused Hamas of reneging on an earlier deal that it said would give Israel a veto over the release of prisoners convicted of murder in exchange for hostages.

Netanyahu faced great internal pressure to repatriate the many hostages, but his far-right coalition partners threatened to overthrow his government if he made too many concessions. He has enough support in the opposition to approve a deal, but it would weaken his coalition and make early elections more likely.

A night of heavy Israeli strikes

Palestinians in Gaza reported intense Israeli bombardment overnight as people celebrated the ceasefire agreement. In previous conflicts, both sides intensified military operations in the final hours before the ceasefire in order to project force.

“We expected the occupation to intensify the bombings, as it did every time there were reports of progress in the truce (negotiations),” said Mohammed Mahdi, who fled his home a few months ago and took refuge in Gaza City.

Ahmed Mattar, who lives near the city’s Al-Ahly hospital, said he heard “massive airstrikes” during the night.

Gaza’s health ministry said at least 48 people were killed in Israeli strikes between midday Wednesday and Thursday morning. About half of the dead were women and children, Zaher al-Wahedi, head of the ministry’s registration department, told The Associated Press.

He added that the toll could rise as hospitals update their records.

An Associated Press reporter on the Israeli side of the border near Gaza heard more airstrikes and artillery fire Thursday.

A gradual withdrawal and release of hostages with potential pitfalls

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel in a surprise attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 250. About 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, and the Israeli military estimates there are around 1,000 hostages. the third and up to half of them died.

According to the agreement reached on Wednesday33 hostages are expected to be released over the next six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israeli forces will withdraw from many areas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians will be able to return to what remains of their homes, and humanitarian aid will increase.

The rest of the hostages, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second – much more difficult – phase which will be negotiated during the first. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining prisoners without a lasting ceasefire and a complete withdrawal from Israel, while Israel has pledged to continue fighting until it dismantles the group and to maintain unlimited security control over the territory.

The Israeli offensive has killed more than 46,000 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry. it does not specify how many of the dead were militants. Israel claims to have killed more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

The war destroyed large areas of Gaza and has displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people, according to the United Nations.

Ceasefire leaves questions about Gaza’s future unanswered

Egyptian, Qatari and American mediators are expected to meet in Cairo on Thursday to discuss the implementation of the agreement. They spent the last year holding indirect talks with Israel and Hamas that ultimately produced a deal after repeated setbacks.

President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy joined the negotiations in recent weeks, and both the outgoing administration and Trump’s team are taking credit for the breakthrough.

Many long-term questions regarding post-war Gaza remain, including who will rule or oversee the territory. arduous task of reconstruction after a brutal conflict which destabilized the Middle East as a whole And sparked global protests.

Israel is the subject of strong international criticism, particularly from its closest ally, the United States, over the civilian death toll in Gaza. It also blames Hamas for civilian losses, accusing it of using schools, hospitals and residential areas for military purposes.

The International Court of Justice investigating allegations made by South Africa that Israel committed genocide. The International Criminal Court, a separate body also based in The Hague, issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas commander, for war crimes and war-related crimes against humanity.

Israel and the United States condemned the actions taken by both courts.

Hamas, an activist group that does not accept the existence of Israelhas come under overwhelming pressure from Israeli military operations, including the invasion of Gaza’s largest towns and the takeover of the Gaza-Egypt border. Its main leaders, including Yahya Sinwarwho allegedly helped organize the attack of October 7, 2023, were killed.

But its fighters regrouped in some of the hardest-hit areas after Israeli forces withdrew, raising the prospect of a prolonged insurgency if the war continues.

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Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press reporter Sam McNeil in southern Israel contributed.

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