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Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel-Hamas deal to release hostages held in Gaza reached
Netanyahu said he will convene his security Cabinet on Friday and then the government to approve the ceasefire agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that the deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached. This comes after his office had said earlier that there were last minute snags in finalizing a ceasefire that would pause 15 months of war.
Netanyahu said he would convene his security Cabinet later on Friday and then the government to approve the long-awaited agreement, the Assosiated Press reported.
“The State of Israel is committed to achieving all the goals of the war, including the return of all our hostages – both living and dead,” the Prime Minister’s Office statement said.
Israel and Hamas have been engaged in a brutal war since October 7, 2023 when militants from Gaza entered Israel and killed more than 1200 citizens and took hundreds hostage. Since then, more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli attacks.
Many rights bodies have accused Israel of war crimes, a charge Netanyahu's government denies.
Netanyahu's statement appeared to clear the way for the Israeli government to approve of the deal, which would pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and see dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. It would also allow hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to the remains of their homes in Gaza.
Israeli airstrikes, meanwhile, killed at least 72 people in the war-ravaged territory on Thursday.
Israel initially delayed a vote on Thursday on the ceasefire, blaming 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 US President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar announced it was complete.
What was holding back the deal?
Netanyahu’s office had accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement in an attempt to gain further concessions — without specifying which parts.
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.”
The ceasefire agreement has drawn 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 hardline national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, threatened to quit the government if Israel approves the ceasefire.
