Israel
Netanyahu blames Hamas for reneging on deal as he delays cabinet vote
The Israeli security cabinet need to approve the deal before it takes effect on Sunday
January 16, 2025 09:31
By, Jewish News Syndicate
1 min read
The Israeli security cabinet need to approve the deal before it takes effect on Sunday
January 16, 2025 09:31ByJC Reporter, Jewish News Syndicate
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Hamas has reneged on parts of the ceasefire agreement announced on Wednesday to extort last-minute concessions, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office announced on Thursday.
"The Israeli Cabinet will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement," according to the PMO.
33 hostages out of the 98 held by Hamas in Gaza are set to be released during the first phase of the deal. The agreement specifies that nine sick and injured captives are to be exchanged for 1100 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli prisons.
Israeli forces are to gradually withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border. The withdrawal will begin on the 42nd day of the first phase, after the release of the final hostage for the phase, and is to be completed by the 50th day.
The Rafah Crossing to Egypt will be prepared for civilian and medical evacuations immediately after the agreement is signed.
Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday night with US President-elect Donald Trump and thanked him for his help forging the ceasefire agreement.
“The prime minister made it clear that he is committed to returning all of the hostages however he can and commended the US president-elect for his remarks that the US would work with Israel to ensure that Gaza will never be a haven for terrorism,” according to a statement from Jerusalem.
Other Israeli politicians welcomed the deal.
Yair Lapid, leader of the opposition and chairman of the Yesh Atid Party, said: "An entire country isn't breathing tonight. We are all waiting, and we are all praying. But we cannot stop now, and the deal cannot end in its first part.
"I promise as I promised in the past a safety net until the last moment, until the last hostage, everyone must return home," he added.
Benny Gantz, chairman of the National Unity Party, stated that "securing the release of the hostages from the arms of the murderous terror organisation Hamas is a top moral and strategic imperative. It is simply the only way forward."
He extended thanks to the negotiators in Israel, Egypt and Qatar; to outgoing US President Joe Biden; and to US President-elect Donald Trump.
"As President Trump said, we must now ensure Gaza never again rebuilds as a terrorist haven and continues to threaten the State of Israel," Gantz said.
Netanyahu shortly thereafter spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden and “thanked him for his assistance in advancing the hostage deal."