Israeli Cabinet Delay Approval of Gaza Ceasefire Deal, as Strikes on Enclave Kill 77

January 16, 2025 | 11:35 pm

TEMPO.CO, Doha - Israel said it had delayed holding a cabinet meeting on Thursday to ratify a ceasefire with Hamas, blaming the militant group for the hold-up, as Palestinian authorities said Israeli airstrikes overnight had killed 77 people in Gaza.

Hamas senior official Izzat el-Reshiq said the group remained committed to the ceasefire deal, agreed a day earlier, that was scheduled to take effect from Sunday to bring an end to 15-months of bloodshed.

President Joe Biden's envoy Brett McGurk and President-elect Donald J. Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff were in Doha with Egyptian and Qatari mediators working to resolve the last remaining dispute, a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

The dispute involves the identities of several prisoners Hamas is demanding to be released and it is expected to be resolved soon, the U.S. official said.

Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told reporters Israeli negotiators were in Doha to reach a solution.

The complex ceasefire accord emerged on Wednesday after mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. to stop the war that has devastated the coastal territory and inflamed the Middle East.

The deal outlines a six-week initial ceasefire with the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands have been killed. Hostages taken by militant group Hamas, which controls the enclave, would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel.

The deal also paves the way for a surge in humanitarian aid for Gaza, where the majority of the population has been displaced and is facing acute food shortages, food security experts warned late last year.

Rows of aid trucks were lined up in the Egyptian border town of El-Arish waiting to cross into Gaza, once the border is reopened.

Israel's acceptance of the deal will not be official until it is approved by the country's security cabinet and government, and a vote had been slated for Thursday.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed the meeting, accusing Hamas of making last-minute demands and going back on agreements.

"The Israeli cabinet will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement," a statement from Netanyahu's office said.

Hardliners in Netanyahu's government were still hoping to stop the deal, though a majority of ministers were expected to back it.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism Party said in a statement that its condition for remaining in the government would be a return to fighting at the end of the first phase of the deal, in order to destroy Hamas and bring all the hostages back. Far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has also threatened to quit the government if the ceasefire is approved.

In Jerusalem, some Israelis marched through the streets carrying mock coffins in protest at the ceasefire, blocking roads and scuffling with police.

Despite the hold-up to the cabinet meeting, political commentators on Israel's public broadcaster Kan said the latest delay would likely be resolved and that the ceasefire was a done deal.

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