Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a deal to return Hamas-held hostages in the Gaza Strip has been reached and that he’ll convene his security cabinet Friday and then the government to approve the agreement.
The announcement came a day after Netanyahu’s office said there were last-minute snags in talks to free hostages in return for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Israel had delayed holding a cabinet meeting to ratify the ceasefire with Hamas, blaming the militant group for the holdup, even as Israeli warplanes pounded Gaza with airstrikes, which Palestinian authorities said killed at least 86 people in the day since the truce was unveiled.
“Hamas is backing out of the understandings and creating a last-minute crisis that prevents a settlement,” Netanyahu’s office said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, however, said Thursday the deal should start on Sunday as planned, despite the need for negotiators to tie up a “loose end” at the last minute.
“It’s not exactly surprising that in a process and negotiation that has been this challenging and this fraught, you may get a loose end,” Blinken told a news conference in Washington, D.C. “We’re tying up that loose end as we speak.”
Israel’s acceptance of the ceasefire deal with Hamas will not be official until it is approved by the country’s security cabinet and government. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed the vote, accusing Hamas of making last-minute demands and going back on agreements.
Rising tensions — both in negotiations and in Netanyahu’s government coalition — had raised concerns about the implementation of the deal just a day after U.S. President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar announced it was complete.
Izzat al-Rashq, a senior Hamas official, said the militant group “is committed to the ceasefire agreement,” scheduled to take effect from Sunday to halt 15 months of bloodshed.
The deal is aimed at releasing scores of hostages held in Gaza and winding down a war that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.
- Just Asking on CBC Radio wants to know: What questions do you have about a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel — and what comes next for Gaza? Fill out the details on this form and send us your questions ahead of our show on Jan. 18.
It wasn’t clear to what extent the holdup in the approval of the deal — originally scheduled to go into effect Sunday — also reflected jockeying to keep Netanyahu’s wobbly government together.
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 arrangement.
Right-wing protesters occupied a highway in Jerusalem on Jan. 16, 2025 in a stand against the ceasefire deal, believing the agreement to be a sign of Israel’s submission in its war with Hamas.
Deadly airstrikes continue
Inside Gaza, joy over the truce gave way to sorrow and anger at the intensified bombardment that followed the announcement.
Tamer Abu Shaaban’s voice cracked as he stood over the tiny body of his young niece wrapped in a white shroud on the tile floor of a Gaza City morgue. She had been hit in the back with shrapnel from a missile as she played in the yard of a school where the family was sheltering, he said.
“Is this the truce they are talking about? What did this young girl, this child, do to deserve this? What did she do to deserve this? Is she fighting you, Israel?” he asked.
While people celebrated the pact in Gaza and Israel, Israel’s military conducted more attacks, the civil emergency service and residents said.
Under the deal reached Wednesday, 33 hostages are set to be released over the next six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israeli forces will pull back from many areas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would be able to return to what’s left of their homes, and there would be a surge of humanitarian assistance.
Front Burner20:39What’s behind the Israel-Hamas ceasefire?
The remainder of the hostages, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second — and much more difficult — phase that 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 to maintain open-ended security control over the territory.
Talks continue in Cairo Thursday
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel in a surprise attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, including several Canadian citizens, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, and the Israeli military believes around a third and up to half of them are dead.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 46,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry. It does not say how many of the dead were militants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
The National asks Arwa Damon, co-founder of the humanitarian organization INARA and former CNN foreign correspondent, what she’s hearing from people in Gaza and what could happen next following the ceasefire deal.
The war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced some 90 per cent of its population of 2.3 million people, according to the United Nations.
Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. were expected to meet in Cairo on Thursday for talks on implementing the agreement. They have spent the past year holding indirect talks with Israel and Hamas that finally resulted in a deal after repeated setbacks.
Biden, Trump admins both taking credit for deal
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy joined the talks in the final weeks, and both the outgoing administration and Trump’s team are taking credit for the breakthrough.
Many longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction after a brutal conflict that has destabilized the broader Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has people on both sides of the border waiting to see what’s next. But many are cautiously optimistic as they await the release of hostages and the arrival of humanitarian aid.
Israel has come under heavy international criticism, including from its closest ally, the United States, over the civilian toll in Gaza. It also blames Hamas for the civilian casualties, accusing it of using schools, hospitals and residential areas for military purposes.
The International Court of Justice is investigating allegations brought by South Africa that Israel has committed genocide. The International Criminal Court, a separate body also based in The Hague, has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, his former defence minister and a Hamas commander for war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the war.
Israel and the United States have condemned the actions taken by both courts.
Hamas, a militant group that does not accept Israel’s existence, has come under overwhelming pressure from Israeli military operations, including the invasion of Gaza’s largest cities and towns and the takeover of the border between Gaza and Egypt. Its top leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, who was believed to have helped mastermind the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, have been killed.
But its fighters have regrouped in some of the hardest-hit areas after the withdrawal of Israeli forces, raising the prospect of a prolonged insurgency if the war continues.