‘Last-minute crisis’ with Hamas delaying Israeli approval of Gaza ceasefire – National

Israel postponed the cabinet vote on Thursday the long-awaited ceasefire agreement it would stop the fighting in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of hostages. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 72 people in the conflict-ravaged territory.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the row on the last minute Hamas for withholding approval as growing tensions in Netanyahu’s governing coalition raised concerns over the deal’s implementation just a day after US President Joe Biden and key broker Qatar announced it was complete.

That created a double reality: Palestinians weary of the conflict in Gaza, relatives of hostages held in the enclave and world leaders welcomed the result of months of painstaking diplomacy, even as Netanyahu delayed a cabinet vote on the deal that had been scheduled for Thursday until Friday at the earliest.

Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of violating parts of the agreement in an attempt to win further concessions – without specifying which parts.

“Hamas is abandoning the deal and creating a last-minute crisis that prevents a settlement,” Netanyahu’s office said.

In a briefing on Thursday, David Mencer, an Israeli government spokesman, said Hamas’ new demands were for the deployment of Israeli forces in the Philadelphia Corridor, a narrow strip bordering Egypt that Israeli troops captured in May.

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

It was not clear to what extent the delay in approving the deal – originally set to take effect on Sunday – also reflected attempts to hold together Netanyahu’s shaky government.

The cease-fire agreement drew fierce opposition from Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, on whose support the Israeli prime minister’s stay in power depends. On Thursday, Israel’s hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to quit the government if Israel approved the ceasefire.

The deal announced on Wednesday will allow the release of scores of hostages held in Gaza and an end to fighting aimed at finally ending the 15-month conflict that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked protests around the world.

Hamas sparked the conflict with its cross-border attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.

Israel responded with a devastating offensive that killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants, but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.

The military campaign leveled vast swaths of Gaza and forced about 90 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes. Hundreds of thousands of people struggle with hunger and disease in squalid tent camps on the coast.

The Israeli prime minister is facing intense domestic pressure to bring home the hostages, whose families have pleaded with Netanyahu to prioritize the release of their loved ones over politics.

But Israeli divisions over the deal were starkly visible on Thursday, as Ben-Gvir, a key coalition government partner and cabinet member, threatened to resign, saying the ceasefire was “reckless” and would “destroy all Israel’s achievements”.

The departure of Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party would 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 slim majority. Ben-Gvir said his party would return to the coalition if Israel continued its conflict.

Ben-Gvir’s resignation would not, by itself, bring down the government or spoil the ceasefire agreement.

But the move destabilizes the Israeli government at a delicate time and could lead to the fall of the government if Ben-Gvir is joined by other key Netanyahu allies. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for example, strongly opposes the deal and has demanded that Netanyahu pledge to continue the conflict against Hamas after the first phase of the ceasefire as a condition for his party to remain in the coalition.

Palestinians in Gaza reported heavy Israeli bombardment overnight as people celebrated the ceasefire agreement. In previous conflicts, both sides have stepped up military operations in the final hours before a ceasefire as a way of projecting power.

“We expected the (Israeli) occupation to step up the bombing, as they did every time there were reports of progress in the truce talks,” said Mohammed Mahdi, who is in a shelter in Gaza City.

Gaza’s health ministry, which is run by Hamas, said at least 72 people had been killed in Israeli strikes since the ceasefire agreement was announced. The death toll from Thursday’s attacks is said to include only bodies delivered to two hospitals in Gaza City, and the actual death toll is likely to be higher.

“Yesterday was a bloody day, and today is bloodier,” said Zaher al-Wahedi, an official at the Ministry of Health.

Israel’s military said it hit approximately 50 militant targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, including weapons depots and rocket launch sites.

Concern spread across Gaza on Thursday with news of a last-minute standoff between Hamas and Israeli officials.

“We ask our brothers in Hamas to communicate with mediators to end the war,” said Omar Jendiya, in Deir al-Balah. “Enough with the destruction and killing.”

Under a deal reached Wednesday, 33 of the roughly 100 hostages remaining in Gaza will be released in the next six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians jailed 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, will be released in a second — and much more difficult — phase that will be negotiated during the first. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining prisoners without a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to continue fighting until it disbands the group and to maintain indefinite security control over the territory.

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

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

Israel has come under heavy international criticism, including from its closest ally, the United States, over the number of civilians in Gaza. It also blames Hamas for civilian casualties, accusing it of using schools, hospitals and residential areas for military purposes.

Hamas, a militant group that does not accept the existence of Israel, has come under enormous pressure from the Israeli invasion of the largest cities and towns in Gaza and the occupation of the border between Gaza and Egypt. Its top leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to have helped mastermind the October 7, 2023 attack, were killed.

But its fighters have regrouped in some of the worst-hit areas since Israeli forces withdrew, raising the prospect of a prolonged insurgency if the conflict continues.

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