Israel holds off on approving hostage deal, accusing Hamas of reneging on details
Israel at warNetanyahu's office: Terror group creating 'crisis' in deal

Israel holds off on approving hostage deal, accusing Hamas of reneging on details

Cabinet meeting to vote on agreement delayed; Prime Minister’s Office says dispute hinges on identities of Palestinian security prisoners to be freed; Hamas denies backtracking

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center), Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (left) and Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs at a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, November 1, 2024. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (center), Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (left) and Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs at a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, November 1, 2024. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

Israel was still holding off on Thursday afternoon from officially declaring that a ceasefire-hostage release deal announced a day earlier by mediators had been reached with Hamas, insisting that details remained to be finalized and that Hamas was throwing last-minute wrenches into the negotiations.

Mossad chief David Barnea, the head of Israel’s negotiating team who was dispatched to Doha on Saturday night, was still in the Qatari capital as of Thursday afternoon, according to an official familiar with the talks.

Both the US and Qatar — who brokered the agreement — proclaimed on Wednesday evening that a deal had been reached to end the 15-month war in Gaza triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held off on publicly commenting, saying he would only do so when the terms were finalized.

Nevertheless, most Israeli officials indicated the agreement was all but a done deal, with the focus moving to the internal political battle playing out ahead of the expected cabinet and security cabinet votes, which were delayed by at least several hours.

The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement Thursday morning accusing Hamas of backing out of some agreements and creating a “crisis” in finalizing the deal.

“Hamas is reneging on the understandings and creating a last-minute crisis that is preventing an agreement,” the PMO said in a statement issued in both English and Hebrew. “The Israeli cabinet will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement.”

Other reports in Israeli media suggested instead that the delay in convening the cabinet was due to attempts to gain the support of far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has threatened to quit the government along with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir if the war is ended.

Overnight, the PMO said that the purported dispute was related to the identity of Palestinian security prisoners slated for release. It said Hamas was “demanding to dictate the identity of these murderers,” contradicting agreed-upon terms.

A leaked copy of the deal, whose authenticity was later confirmed to The Times of Israel, said prisoners would be released “based on lists agreed upon by both sides.”

Following the Israeli government statement, senior Hamas official Izzat el-Risheq said that the terror group is committed to the ceasefire agreement announced by mediators on Wednesday.

Separately, a senior diplomatic official denied to reporters on Thursday that Israel had agreed to gradually pull out of the Philadelphi Corridor along the border between Gaza and Egypt from the start of the ceasefire.

The official said Israeli troops will remain in the area “throughout the entire first stage, all 42 days.” The number of troops deployed there will remain the same, the official said, “but will be distributed in a different manner, including outposts, patrols, observation points and control along the entire route.”

Only on day 16 of the first stage, the official added, will negotiations begin over the end of the war, and “if Hamas does not agree to Israeli demands to end the war, Israel will remain in the Philadelphi Corridor also on the 42nd day and also the 50th day.”

In practical terms, the official contended, “Israel is staying in Philadelphi until further notice.”

The leaked copy of the agreement states that the Israeli side “will gradually reduce the forces in the corridor area during stage 1 based on the accompanying maps and the agreement between both sides.” On day 42, the deal says, “Israeli forces will begin their withdrawal and complete it no later than day 50.”

Under the terms of the deal, the initial six-week first phase of the ceasefire will see the gradual release of 33 Israeli hostages — including two who have been held in Gaza for many years.

During that phase, Israel is slated to gradually withdraw from the densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip, including the Netzarim Corridor in its center, and deploy to a 700-meter-long perimeter on the Gaza border. The Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt will open for civilians and wounded to leave Gaza for abroad after the release of all the female hostages in the first phase, and civilians will be able to start returning to northern Gaza a week into the deal.

On the 16th day of the first stage, negotiations are slated to begin on the terms of the second phase of the deal, which is expected to see the release of the remaining 65 hostages.

Hamas-led terrorists kidnapped 251 hostages during their October 7, 2023, onslaught, and 105 were released during a November 2023 temporary truce, while four were freed earlier and eight have been rescued alive by troops from Gaza.

The bodies of 40 hostages have been recovered from the Strip, and of the 94 captives believed to still be held, 34 have been confirmed dead by Israeli officials. The fate of many of the others is unknown. PJC

Agencies and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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