Israeli vote on Gaza ceasefire deal delayed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed a cabinet vote to approve the Gaza ceasefire deal, scheduled for Thursday, accusing Hamas of seeking to make last-minute changes to the deal.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a “glitch” was being resolved and that he was confident the ceasefire would still begin on Sunday as planned.

Although Israeli negotiators accepted the deal after months of negotiations, it cannot be implemented until it is approved by the security cabinet and the government.

Hamas said it was committed to the deal, but the BBC understands it was trying to add some of its members to the list of Palestinian prisoners who would be released under the deal.

The delay occurred after Israeli strikes in Gaza after Wednesday’s announcement The deal killed more than 80 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Hours before Thursday morning’s meeting, Netanyahu accused Hamas of trying to “extort last-minute concessions.”

The cabinet will not meet until Hamas accepts “all elements of the agreement,” a statement from his office said.

Blinken said such a delay was normal in such a “difficult” situation.

“It’s not really surprising that in such a difficult and charged process and negotiations, you can have difficulties,” he said at a news conference in Washington.

“We are sorting this out as we speak.”

He said the United States was “confident” that the agreement would take effect on Sunday as planned and that the ceasefire would persist afterward.

Israeli media reported that the cabinet was due to meet on Friday to approve the deal and that the alleged problem had been resolved, although this has not been officially confirmed.

A majority of Israeli ministers are expected to support the deal, but on Thursday evening Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said his right-wing party would leave Netanyahu’s government if it was approved.

“The agreement that is taking shape is an irresponsible agreement,” Ben-Gvir told a news conference, adding that it would “erase the gains of the war.”

However, he said his Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party would not seek to overthrow the government if the deal was ratified.

He urged the leader of the other far-right party in government, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of the Religious Zionist Party, to join him in resigning.

Ohad Tal, chairman of the party in the Israeli parliament, said BBC Radio 4 that he was “debating” whether to leave Netanyahu’s government over the deal.

Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official told the BBC that the group was committed to the deal announced by mediators.

The head of the Hamas delegation, Khalil al-Hayya, officially informed Qatar and Egypt of his approval of all terms of the agreement, the official told the BBC.

But BBC Gaza correspondent Rushdi Abualouf understands Hamas was trying to add the names of one or two token members to the list of prisoners who would be released under the deal.

The first phase of the deal, lasting six weeks, would see the exchange of 33 hostages – including women, children and the elderly – for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Israeli troops would also withdraw eastward, away from the densely populated areas of Gaza.

Displaced Palestinians could begin returning home and hundreds of humanitarian trucks would be allowed to enter the territory each day.

Negotiations for the second phase – which should see the release of the remaining hostages, a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops and a return to “lasting calm” – would begin on the 16th day.

The third and final step would involve returning the bodies of the remaining hostages and rebuilding Gaza – which could take years.

Israeli airstrikes continued after the deal was announced on Wednesday. At least 12 people were killed in Gaza City, where a doctor told BBC staff “did not rest a minute” during that “bloody night”.

Strikes have been carried out on 50 targets in Gaza since the deal was announced, the Israeli army and Israeli security agency said in a statement.

Qatar’s prime minister, who mediated the negotiations, called for “calm” on both sides before the start of the first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement.

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas – which is banned as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and others – in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were killed. taken hostage.

Since then, more than 46,788 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have also been displaced, destruction is widespread and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter, while humanitarian agencies struggle to provide supplies. help to those who need it.

Israel says 94 of the hostages are still held by Hamas, 34 of whom are presumed dead. Four Israelis were kidnapped before the war, two of whom died.