Newsman: A ceasefire has been reached between Israel and Hamas, with the Qatari prime minister announcing the deal Wednesday afternoon. But the
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Palestinian militants are “creating a last-minute crisis.”
“Hamas is reneging on the understandings and creating a last-minute crisis that is preventing an agreement,” Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday his Cabinet won’t meet to approve the Gaza cease-fire deal until Hamas backs down from a “last-minute crisis.”
“Hamas is reneging on the understandings and creating a last-minute crisis that is preventing an agreement,” Netanyahu’s office said Thursday in a statement, according to local media.
“The Israeli cabinet will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement,” the statement added.
Following the Israeli announcement, senior Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq denied the accusations his group had reneged on some details of the deal and said it is committed to respecting the agreement, Al Jazeera and The Times of Israel reported.
The Israeli Cabinet was set to meet Thursday to approve a cease-fire and hostage-release deal with Hamas in Gaza brokered by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt, raising hopes for the end of a 15-month war which killed tens of thousands of people.
Under the deal’s terms, Hamas will release dozens of hostages — including Americans — being held in Gaza. It comes 15 months after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group. Israeli forces also remain active inside the Syrian border region as victorious rebels there build a transitional government.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told “Good Morning America” on Thursday that Hamas is “desperate” for a ceasefire deal in Gaza after more than a year of intense fighting.
“Hamas is in a much weaker position now than they were in May when this deal got put on the table,” Kirby said of the ceasefire agreement, a version of which was tabled by President Joe Biden’s administration last summer.
“They’re also more isolated with a ceasefire with Israel and Hezbollah — they can’t count on Hezbollah coming to their aid, Iran is weaker,” Kirby said of Hamas. “There have been a lot of developments that have put Hamas in a situation where they were more desperate to get to a deal. That’s where we are.”
Pressure from President-elect Donald Trump and his team “sent a strong signal to everybody in the region,” including Hamas, the surviving hostages in Gaza and their families, Kirby acknowledged.
“This new Trump team will have to implement this deal which is why President Biden made sure we were keeping them informed and coordinating with them all the way through this process,” Kirby said.
A senior political official confirmed to ABC News that the Israel Defense Forces will remain in the Philadelphi corridor — the strip of land separating Gaza from Egypt — throughout the first phase of the nascent ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Israeli troops will remain in the corridor throughout the first 42 days of the ceasefire process, the official said, their footprint remaining at its current size with forces deployed in “outposts, patrols, observations and control along the entire length of the axis.”
The official added that if peace talks fail during the first phase of the ceasefire, Israeli forces will stay in the corridor.
Hamas ‘committed’ to ceasefire, statement says
Hamas said on Thursday they were “committed to the ceasefire agreement announced by the mediators.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said the organization had attempted to renege on “parts” of the agreement.
