The National Times - Israel accuses Hamas of backtracking on fragile ceasefire deal

The truce, announced by mediators Qatar and the United States on Wednesday, would take effect on Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be finalised.

But the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Hamas had "reneged on parts of the agreement reached with the mediators and Israel in an effort to extort last-minute concessions".

It also said 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."

Hamas political bureau member Sami Abu Zuhri said there was "no basis" to Israel's accusations.

In Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israel had pounded several areas of the territory since the announcement of the deal, killing at least 73 people and wounding hundreds.

The agreement followed months of fruitless negotiations to end the deadliest war in Gaza's history, and, if finalised, would pause hostilities one day before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

Netanyahu spoke with both US President Joe Biden and Trump on Wednesday, the Israeli leader's office said, thanking them for their help securing the agreement but also cautioning that "final details" were still being worked on.

The war was triggered by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

During the attack, the deadliest in Israeli history, Palestinian militants also took 251 people hostage, 94 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's ensuing campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,707 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.

- Mixed feelings -

In Israel and Gaza, there were celebrations but also anguish.

Gaza City resident Fadl Naeem told AFP he felt "so happy, but at the same time, a deep sadness".

"We have lost grandchildren, fathers, brothers, cousins, neighbours, and our homes" in the war, he said.

In Tel Aviv, pensioner Simon Patya said he felt "great joy" that some hostages will return alive, but also "great sorrow for those who are returning in bags, and that will be a very strong blow, morally."

Two far-right party leaders in Netanyahu's cabinet have publicly opposed the agreement.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said it was a "dangerous deal", while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called it "disastrous".

The deal followed intensified efforts from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani announced on Wednesday that the "two belligerents in the Gaza Strip have reached a deal".

"We hope that all parties will commit to implementing all the terms of this agreement," he said, adding that the three mediators would monitor its implementation.

During an initial 42-day ceasefire, 33 hostages would be released, the Qatari prime minister said, including women, "children, elderly people, as well as civilian ill people and wounded".

Also in the first phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza's densely populated areas and would allow displaced Palestinians to return "to their residences", he said.

- Aid rapidly needed -

Announcing the deal from the White House, Biden said he was "deeply satisfied this day has come", calling the negotiations some of the "toughest" of his career.

He added that an unfinalised second phase of the agreement would bring a "permanent end to the war".

Envoys from both Trump's incoming administration and Biden's outgoing one had been present at the latest negotiations, with a senior Biden official saying the unlikely pairing had been a decisive factor in reaching the deal.

Trump on social media hailed the "EPIC ceasefire agreement".

Biden said the deal would "surge much needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families".

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi underscored the "importance of accelerating the entry of urgent humanitarian aid" into Gaza.

Egypt's state-linked Al-Qahera News cited a security source as saying coordination was "underway" to reopen the Rafah crossing on Gaza's border with Egypt to allow the entry of aid.

The UN's Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, facing an Israeli ban on its activities set to take effect later this month, welcomed the deal.

"What's needed is rapid, unhindered and uninterrupted humanitarian access and supplies to respond to the tremendous suffering caused by this war," UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X.

Weakened but not crushed by the war, Hamas sought to portray the agreement as a victory for "our great Palestinian people and our valiant resistance in the Gaza Strip".

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N.Taylor--TNT