Israel delays vote to approve Gaza ceasefire deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed a cabinet vote that was scheduled for Thursday to approve a Gaza ceasefire deal. He accused Hamas of trying to make last-minute changes to the agreement before it was finalized.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that a "remaining issue" was being addressed, and he was confident that the ceasefire deal would still commence as planned on Sunday. Although Israeli negotiators had agreed to the deal after months of talks, it must be approved by the security cabinet and the government before it can be implemented.

Hamas has stated its commitment to the agreement, but according to the BBC, the group is attempting to add some of its members to the list of Palestinian prisoners to be released under the deal. This delay follows Israeli strikes on Gaza on Wednesday after the deal was announced, which, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, killed more than 80 people.

Hours before the meeting was scheduled to take place on Thursday morning, Netanyahu accused Hamas of attempting to "extort last-minute concessions." His office stated in a statement that the cabinet would not meet until Hamas accepted "all elements of the agreement." Blinken said that such delays were to be expected in such a "challenging" situation. "It's not surprising that in a process as challenging and contentious as this one, there are going to be some remaining issues," he said at a press conference in Washington. "We are working through that remaining issue." He stated that the US was "confident" that the agreement would go into effect on Sunday as planned and that the ceasefire would hold.

Israeli media reported that the cabinet was expected to meet on Friday to approve the deal, claiming that the issues had been resolved, although this has not been officially confirmed. Most Israeli ministers are expected to support the agreement, but late on Thursday, Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that his far-right party would quit Netanyahu's government if the deal was approved. "The emerging deal is a reckless deal," Ben-Gvir said at a news conference, adding that it would "erase the achievements of the war." However, he said that his Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party would not try to bring down the government if the deal was approved. He urged Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, of another far-right party in the government, Religious Zionism, to join him in resigning. The head of the party in the Israeli parliament, Ohad Tal, told BBC Radio 4 that they were "debating" whether to leave Netanyahu's government over the deal.

Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official told the BBC that the group was committed to the agreement announced by mediators. The official told the BBC that Khalil al-Hayya, the head of the Hamas delegation, had formally notified Qatar and Egypt that the group had approved all terms of the agreement. But the BBC's Rushdi Abu Alouf in Gaza understands that Hamas is trying to add one or two symbolic names to the list of prisoners who will be released under the deal.

The first phase of the agreement is for six weeks, during which 33 hostages (including women, children, and the elderly) will be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Israeli forces will also pull back to the east, away from populated areas of Gaza. Displaced Palestinians will be able to begin returning to their homes, and hundreds of aid trucks will be allowed into the area each day. Negotiations for the second phase—which should see the remaining hostages released, a full withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the restoration of "sustainable calm"—will begin on day 16. The third and final phase will involve the return of any remaining hostage remains and the reconstruction of Gaza—which could take years.

Israeli airstrikes have continued after the deal was announced on Wednesday. At least 12 people were killed in Gaza City, and a doctor told the BBC that staff had "not had a minute's rest" during a "bloody night." The Israeli military and Israeli security agencies said in a statement that 50 targets in Gaza had been struck since the deal was announced. The Prime Minister of Qatar—which has been mediating the talks—has called for both sides to maintain "calm" before the start of the six-week first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

Israel launched an operation to destroy Hamas—which is designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the US, and others—after an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage. Since then, more than 46,788 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the territory, which is controlled by Hamas. Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have also been displaced, with widespread destruction and severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine, and shelter, while aid agencies are struggling to reach those in need. Israel says Hamas is still holding 94 hostages, 34 of whom are presumed dead. There were also four Israelis kidnapped before the war, two of whom have died.