JERUSALEM: Israel on Thursday (Jan 16) accused Hamas of backtracking on parts of the Gaza ceasefire deal announced a day earlier, and said the Cabinet will not meet on the deal until Hamas’ agreement is confirmed.
“Hamas has reneged on parts of the agreement reached with the mediators and Israel in an effort to extort last-minute concessions,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement, adding the situation created a “last minute crisis”.
It did not specify which parts of the deal were at issue.
The statement added that the Israeli Cabinet, which has yet to approve the agreement, “will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement”.
Key mediator Qatar said Wednesday that Israel and Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas had agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza starting on Sunday, along with a hostage and prisoner exchange after more than 15 months of war.
The United States also announced the deal, which largely reproduces the framework of a blueprint presented by President Joe Biden in May 2024.
Thirty-three Israeli hostages will be released in the first, 42-day, phase of the agreement, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said.
