Israel accuses Hamas of reneging on parts of ceasefire-hostage agreement, delays vote
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday accused Hamas of reneging on parts of a ceasefire and hostage release agreement announced the day before.
In a statement, Netanyahu said his Cabinet will not sign off on the deal until Hamas agrees to all parts of the arrangement.
“Hamas has reneged on parts of the agreement reached with the mediators and Israel in an effort to extort last-minute concessions,” Netanyahu said in a statement Thursday. “The Israeli Cabinet will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement."
It was not immediately clear whether the statement reflected efforts to keep his precarious coalition government together, as at least one far-right member threatened to thwart the deal, or whether the ceasefire was at risk.
A senior Hamas official, Izzat al-Rishq, said the group “is committed to the ceasefire agreement, which was announced by the mediators,” according to The Associated Press.
The deal, expected to be implemented Sunday, would bring relief to nearly two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and allow for the return of dozens of hostages to Israel held in captivity since Hamas’s initial attack on Oct. 7, 2023. It would also open the door for a possible end to more than a year of fighting in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu’s office said some details of the deal were still being worked out but said it was hopeful the deal would be “finalized tonight.”
The Israeli Security Cabinet would need to vote to accept the terms of the ceasefire, and then a second vote would go before Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. If passed by both groups, there would also be time for appeals against the deal to be brought to the nation's Supreme Court.
The contours of the deal are nearly identical to President Biden’s May proposal to begin a ceasefire and lead to a pathway to end the war. That proposal was endorsed by the United Nations Security Council during a vote in June.
The first phase of the complex deal would begin with a six-week ceasefire and for the U.S.-designated terrorist group to release 33 hostages, including two Americans, out of an estimated 94 people — both alive and dead — whom it has held since Oct 7. Civilian women, women soldiers, children, the elderly, and the sick are expected to be released in the first phase.
During this time, Israel would begin to withdraw its military from parts of the Gaza Strip described as “population centers.”
Negotiators from Israel and Hamas — mediated by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar — would use this time to work towards transitioning into a second phase, working out terms to extend the ceasefire permanently and end the war. Humanitarian aid would also flood the strip during this initial phase.
Biden, during remarks from the White House Wednesday, said that if negotiations to get to a second phase of the deal took longer than six-weeks, the ceasefire should be extended.
“Negotiations will go forward for as long as it takes,” Biden said.
When phase 2 begins, there would be an exchange for the remaining living hostages, to include Israeli soldiers and the men of military age. Hamas also holds a third Israeli-American, Edan Alexander, who was serving in the Israel Defense Forces when he was kidnapped on Oct. 7.
Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza and the “temporary ceasefire will become permanent,” Biden said.
A third phase of the deal would include the release of the remains of hostages killed.
Biden and President-elect Trump have both taken credit for the deal.
Laura Kelly contributed.