‘Last Minute Crisis’ Delays Israel’s Gaza Ceasefire Deal With Hamas – The National

Israel on Thursday delayed a cabinet vote on a ceasefire that would have temporarily halted fighting in the Gaza Strip and freed dozens of hostages. Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 72 people in the region affected by the conflict.

Tensions rise in Netanyahu’s coalition A day after U.S. President Joe Biden and his key mediator, Qatar, announced the end of the deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a last-minute concession to the truce with Hamas as tensions in Netanyahu’s governing coalition threatened the implementation of the deal.

That created a double reality: Conflict-weary Palestinians in Gaza, relatives of hostages in the area and world leaders welcomed the outcome of months of grueling diplomacy even as Netanyahu postponed a cabinet vote on the deal scheduled for Thursday. Until Friday, at the beginning.

Netanyahu’s office has accused Hamas of scrapping parts of the deal in order to secure more deals, without specifying which parts.

“Hamas is backtracking and creating a last-minute crisis that will prevent a settlement,” Netanyahu’s office said.

Israeli government spokesman David Menser said in a briefing Thursday that Hamas’ new request concerns Israeli forces’ occupation of the Philadelphia Corridor, a narrow strip along the border with Egypt, in May.

Hamas denied the claims, and senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said the militant group was “committed to the ceasefire announced by the mediators.”

It was not clear how much of a hold on the approval of the deal – which was originally scheduled to take effect on Sunday – and it also shows that Netanyahu’s tyrannical government is struggling to keep it together.

The cease-fire deal, which hinges on support for the Israeli prime minister to stay in power, has drawn fierce opposition from Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners. On Thursday, Israel’s hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Givir threatened to resign if Israel accepted the ceasefire.

The deal, announced Wednesday, will free dozens of hostages held in Gaza and end fighting in a bid to reverse a 15-month conflict that has roiled the Middle East and sparked international protests.

Hamas launched a cross-border attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.

Israel responded with a brutal attack that killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who did not distinguish between civilians and militants, but women and children accounted for more than half of those killed.

The military operation has torn apart large areas of Gaza, and displaced 90 percent of the 2.3 million Gazans from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are suffering from starvation and disease.

The Israeli prime minister has faced intense domestic pressure to repatriate the hostages, with Netanyahu pleading with the families to prioritize the release of their relatives over politics.

Israel’s divisions over the deal were on display Thursday, with key coalition partner and cabinet member Ben-Javir threatening to resign, saying the ceasefire was “reckless” and “will destroy all of Israel’s achievements.”

The departure of Ben Gvir’s Jewish Power Party will reduce the ruling coalition’s number of seats in Israel’s parliament, or Knesset, from 68 to 62 – leaving Netanyahu’s government with only a narrow majority. Ben-Givir said his party would return to the coalition if Israel continued its conflict.

Ben-Gvir’s resignation will not by itself topple the government or undermine the ceasefire agreement.

But the move would destabilize the Israeli government at a critical time and could lead to the collapse of the government if Ben-Gvir joins other key Netanyahu allies. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for example, strongly opposes the deal and has demanded that Netanyahu pledge to resume fighting Hamas after the initial cease-fire as a condition of his party staying in the coalition.

Palestinians in Gaza said that while the people were observing the ceasefire agreement, they were bombarded by Israel overnight. In previous conflicts, both sides have stepped up military operations in the final hours before a ceasefire as a project of strength.

“We were expecting the Israeli occupation to intensify the bombardment, as they do every time there is a report of progress in the peace talks,” said Mohammed Mahdi, who is taking refuge in Gaza City.

At least 72 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since the ceasefire was announced, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. The casualties from Thursday’s attack included only the bodies brought to two hospitals in Gaza City, and the number of casualties could be higher, he said.

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“Yesterday was a bloody day, and today is even bloodier,” said Health Ministry official Zahr al-Wahdi.

Israel’s military said it had struck about 50 militant targets across the Gaza Strip in the past day, including weapons caches and rocket launch sites.

Tensions spread across Gaza on Thursday after a last-minute standoff between Hamas and Israeli officials was heard.

In Deir al-Balah, Omar Jendia said, “We ask our brothers in Hamas to talk to mediators to stop the war.” “Enough of destruction and murder”

Under Wednesday’s deal, 33 of the 100 hostages remaining in Gaza are to be released in the next six weeks, along with hundreds of other Palestinians held by Israel. Israeli troops will withdraw from many areas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians will be able to return home, and there will be massive humanitarian aid.

The rest of the hostages, including male soldiers, will be released in the first – and most difficult – phase of negotiations. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a permanent ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal, vowing to continue fighting until Israel dismantles the group and open security controls over the territory.

US President-elect Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East has joined the talks in recent weeks, and both the outgoing administration and Trump’s team are crediting the find.

Long-term questions about post-conflict Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the difficult task of reconstruction.

Israel has faced intense international criticism over the civilian casualties in Gaza, including from its closest ally the United States. He blamed Hamas for the civilian casualties, saying it used schools, hospitals and residential areas for military purposes.

Hamas, a militant group that rejects Israel’s existence, has come under intense pressure as Israel has occupied large towns and cities in Gaza and seized the border between Gaza and Egypt. In the year Its top leaders were killed, including Yahya Sinwar, who was believed to have helped orchestrate the October 7, 2023 attack.

But its fighters have regrouped in hard-hit areas since the withdrawal of Israeli troops, raising hopes of a longer insurgency if the conflict continues.

Shurafa reports from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Magdi from Cairo. Associated Press reporter Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel contributed.