Netanyahu’s pre-dawn statement and the anticipated government approval appear to clear the path for implementing the deal.
By World Israel News and AP
A ceasefire and hostage exchange deal has officially been signed by Israel, Hamas, the United States, and Qatari officials, marking a significant development in the ongoing conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the agreement early Friday and stated that his political-security cabinet would convene to discuss and approve the terms, followed by a broader government meeting.
Netanyahu’s office released a statement, translated from Hebrew to English, outlining the next steps: “The families of the hostages were informed a short while ago of the agreements by the Directorate for Hostages, Missing Persons, and Returnees in the Prime Minister’s Office. Additionally, the Prime Minister instructed the Coordinator for Prisoners and Missing Persons to coordinate preparations for the reception of the hostages upon their return to Israel.”
The plan includes a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, the freeing of dozens of hostages held by Hamas, and the release of Palestinian terrorist prisoners held by Israel.
It also paves the way for hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to what remains of their homes in the war-torn Gaza Strip. The ceasefire is expected to halt over 15 months of conflict between the two sides.
While the Israeli government is set to vote on the measure Saturday, logistical and last-minute issues with Hamas have delayed the planned release of the first three hostages until Monday. Netanyahu emphasized that resolving the hostage situation has been a top priority for his administration.
Netanyahu’s pre-dawn statement and the anticipated government approval appear to clear the path for implementing the deal, which was mediated with significant involvement from the U.S. and Qatar.
If successful, this agreement could serve as a critical step toward de-escalating tensions in the region.
Israel had delayed a Cabinet vote Thursday on the long-awaited ceasefire deal that would pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of hostages.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed a last-minute dispute with Hamas for holding up the approval as rising tensions in Netanyahu’s government coalition raised concerns about the implementation of the deal just a day after U.S. President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar announced it was complete.
That created a dual reality: War-weary Palestinians in Gaza, the relatives of hostages held in the enclave and world leaders all welcomed the result of months of painstaking diplomacy, even as Netanyahu postponed the Cabinet vote on the agreement that had been scheduled for Thursday until Friday, at the earliest.
Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement in an attempt to gain further concessions.
“Hamas is backing out of the understandings and creating a last-minute crisis that prevents a settlement,” Netanyahu’s office said.
In a briefing Thursday, David Mencer, an Israeli government spokesman, said Hamas’ new demands dealt with the deployment of Israeli forces in the Philadelphi corridor, the narrow strip bordering Egypt that Israeli troops seized in May.
Hamas denied the claims, with Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, saying the militant group “is committed to the ceasefire agreement, which was announced by the mediators.”
It wasn’t clear to what extent the holdup in the approval of the deal — originally scheduled to go into effect Sunday — also reflected jockeying to keep Netanyahu’s wobbly government together.
The ceasefire agreement has drawn fierce resistance from Netanyahu’s coalition partners, on whose support the Israeli prime minister depends to remain in power.
On Thursday, Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, threatened to quit the government if Israel approves the ceasefire.
The deal announced Wednesday would see scores of hostages held in Gaza released and a pause in fighting with a view to eventually wind down a 15-month war that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.
Hamas terrorists triggered the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack into Israel that killed some 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.
Netanyahu faces great 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 on stark display Thursday, as Ben-Gvir, a key government coalition partner and Cabinet member, threatened to resign, saying the ceasefire was “reckless” and would “destroy all of Israel’s achievements.”
The departure of Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party would reduce the number of the ruling coalition’s seats in the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, from 68 to 62 — leaving Netanyahu’s government with just the slimmest of majorities. Ben-Gvir said his party would return to the coalition if Israel resumes its war.
Ben-Gvir’s resignation would not bring down the government or derail the ceasefire deal. But the move destabilizes the Israeli government at a delicate moment and could lead to the government’s collapse if Ben-Gvir is joined by other key Netanyahu allies.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for instance, is vehemently opposed to the agreement and has demanded that Netanyahu promise to resume the war against Hamas after the first phase of the ceasefire as a condition of his party staying in the coalition.
Under the deal reached Wednesday, 33 of some 100 hostages who remain in Gaza are set to be released over the next six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Israeli forces will pull back from many areas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would be able to return to what’s left of their homes, and there would be a surge of humanitarian assistance.
The remainder of the hostages, including male soldiers, are to 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 captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to keep fighting until it dismantles the group and to maintain open-ended security control over the territory.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy joined the talks in the final weeks, and both the outgoing administration and Trump’s team are taking credit for the breakthrough.
Longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction.
Hamas has come under overwhelming pressure from Israel’s invasion of Gaza’s largest cities and towns and seizure of the border between Gaza and Egypt.
Its top leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, who was believed to have helped mastermind the 2023 attack, have been killed.
But its fighters have regrouped in some of the hardest-hit areas after the withdrawal of Israeli forces, raising the prospect of a prolonged insurgency if the war continues.
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