Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that a deal has been reached to release hostages held by Hamas. This comes after negotiations and discussions, with the deal aiming to address t
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that a deal has been reached to release hostages held by Hamas. This comes after negotiations and discussions, with the deal aiming to address the hostages' return and possibly include a ceasefire to pause the ongoing conflict.
The announcement came a day after Netanyahu's office reported last-minute snags in talks to secure the release of hostages in exchange for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that a deal to return Hamas-held hostages in the Gaza Strip has been reached. This came a day after Netanyahu's office reported last-minute snags in negotiations for a ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
Netanyahu stated that he would convene his security cabinet on Friday, followed by a government meeting to approve the agreement. On Thursday, Israel delayed a Cabinet vote on the ceasefire deal, which aims to pause the fighting and release dozens of hostages. In the meantime, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 72 people in Gaza.
Netanyahu blamed a last-minute dispute with Hamas for delaying the approval, with rising tensions in his government coalition raising concerns about implementing the deal. This occurred just a day after U.S. President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar had announced that the agreement was finalized.
The situation created a dual reality: While war-weary Palestinians in Gaza, the families of hostages, and world leaders welcomed the results of months of diplomacy, Netanyahu postponed the Cabinet vote on the ceasefire agreement. The vote, originally scheduled for Thursday, was delayed until Friday at the earliest.
Netanyahu's office accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement in an effort to gain further concessions, although the specific details of these parts were not provided. In a Thursday briefing, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer stated that Hamas' new demands were related to the deployment of Israeli forces in the Philadelphi corridor, a narrow strip bordering Egypt seized by Israeli troops in May. Hamas denied these claims, with senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq stating that the group was committed to the ceasefire agreement announced by the mediators.
The holdup in the deal’s approval may also reflect internal political pressures to maintain Netanyahu’s fragile government coalition. The ceasefire agreement has faced strong resistance from Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, particularly hardline national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who threatened to resign if Israel approves the ceasefire.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty urged both Israel and Hamas to implement the ceasefire plan without delay, highlighting Egypt's role as a key mediator in the negotiations.
The deal, announced on Wednesday, would see scores of hostages released from Gaza and a pause in fighting, aimed at ending the 15-month conflict that has destabilized the Middle East. The war began with Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed over 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. Israel's subsequent military campaign has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, displaced about 90% of Gaza's population, and caused widespread hunger and disease.
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