Israel on Thursday delayed a Cabinet vote on the long-awaited ceasefire deal that would end fighting in the Gaza Strip and free dozens of hostages. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 72 people in the conflict-torn territory.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed a last-minute dispute with Hamas for delaying approval, as rising tensions in Netanyahu’s governing coalition raised concerns about the deal’s implementation just a day after U.S. President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar announced it was complete.
That created a dual reality: Conflict-weary Palestinians in Gaza, relatives of hostages held in the enclave and world leaders welcomed the outcome of months of meticulous 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 obtain more concessions, without specifying which ones.
“Hamas is withdrawing from the understandings and creating a last-minute crisis that prevents an agreement,” Netanyahu’s office said.
In a briefing on Thursday, David Mencer, an Israeli government spokesman, said Hamas’ new demands had to do with the deployment of Israeli forces in the Philadelphia Corridor, the narrow border strip with Egypt that Israeli troops seized in May. .
Hamas denied the claims, and Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, said the militant group “is committed to the ceasefire agreement, which was announced by the mediators.”
It was unclear to what extent the delay in approving the deal, originally scheduled to take effect on Sunday, also reflected maneuvers to keep Netanyahu’s faltering government together.
The ceasefire agreement has sparked fierce resistance from Netanyahu’s far-right 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 resign from the government if Israel approves the ceasefire.
The deal announced Wednesday would allow the release of dozens of hostages held in Gaza and a pause in fighting with a view to eventually ending a 15-month conflict that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked protests around the world.
Hamas sparked the conflict with its Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage.
Israel responded with a devastating offensive that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children account for more than half of the dead.
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The military campaign has devastated vast areas of Gaza and forced approximately 90 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million to flee their homes. Hundreds of thousands of people fight hunger and disease in squalid tent camps on the coast.
Netanyahu faces strong internal pressure
The Israeli prime minister faces huge 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 clearly on display on Thursday, when Ben-Gvir, a key government coalition partner and cabinet member, threatened to resign, saying the ceasefire was “reckless” and would “destroy all ties.” achievements of Israel.
The departure of Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party would reduce the ruling coalition’s number of seats in the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, from 68 to 62, leaving Netanyahu’s government with just a slim majority. Ben-Gvir said his party would return to the coalition if Israel resumes its conflict.
Ben-Gvir’s resignation alone would not bring down the government or derail the ceasefire agreement.
But the move destabilizes the Israeli government at a delicate time and could lead to the collapse of the government if Ben-Gvir is joined by other key Netanyahu allies. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for example, vehemently opposes the deal and has demanded that Netanyahu promise to resume the conflict against Hamas after the first phase of the ceasefire as a condition for his party to remain in the coalition.
A night of strong Israeli attacks
Palestinians in Gaza reported heavy Israeli shelling overnight as people celebrated the ceasefire agreement. In previous conflicts, both sides have stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires as a way to project force.
“We expected the (Israeli) occupation to intensify the bombing, as they did every time there were reports of progress in the truce talks,” said Mohammed Mahdi, a refugee in Gaza City.
Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said Israeli strikes have killed at least 72 people since the ceasefire deal was announced. He said the death toll from Thursday’s attacks only includes bodies taken to two hospitals in Gaza City, and that the true toll is likely higher.
“Yesterday was a bloody day and today is bloodier,” said Health Ministry official Zaher al-Wahedi.
The Israeli military said it had struck approximately 50 militant targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, including weapons storage facilities and rocket launch sites.
Anxiety spread across Gaza on Thursday with news of a last-minute dispute between Hamas and Israeli officials.
“We ask our Hamas brothers to contact mediators to end the war,” said Omar Jendiya, in Deir al-Balah. “Enough destruction and slaughter.”
Buildings destroyed by Israeli bombing seen inside the Gaza Strip from southern Israel, Thursday, January 16, 2025.
AP Photo/Ariel Schalit
A gradual withdrawal and release of hostages with potential dangers
Under the deal reached Wednesday, 33 of about 100 hostages remaining in Gaza will be freed over the next six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israeli forces will withdraw from many areas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians could return to what remains of their homes and there will be an increase in humanitarian assistance.
The rest of the hostages, including male soldiers, will be freed in a second, much more difficult phase, which 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 maintains indefinite security control over the territory.
Ceasefire leaves unanswered questions about Gaza’s future
US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy joined the talks in recent weeks, and both the outgoing administration and Trump’s team take credit for the breakthrough.
Long-term questions remain over post-conflict Gaza, including who will govern the territory or oversee the massive reconstruction task.
Israel has come under heavy international criticism, including from its closest ally, the United States, over the number of civilian casualties 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 overwhelming pressure from the Israeli invasion of Gaza’s largest cities and towns and the seizure of the Gaza-Egypt border. Its top leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to have helped plan the October 7, 2023 attack, have been killed.
But its fighters have regrouped in some of the worst-affected areas after the withdrawal of Israeli forces, raising the possibility of a prolonged insurgency if the conflict continues.
Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press reporter Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed.
