Netanyahu says last minute crisis with Hamas holding up approval of Gaza truce and hostage deal
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a “last minute crisis” with Hamas was holding up Israeli approval of a long-awaited agreement to pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of hostages.Israeli airstrikes meanwhile killed dozens of people across the war-ravaged territory.Netanyahu’s office said his Cabinet won’t meet to approve the agreement until Hamas backs down, accusing it of reneging on parts of the agreement in an attempt to gain further concessions.Izzat al-Rashq, a senior Hamas official, said the terror group “is committed to the ceasefire agreement, which was announced by the mediators.”US President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar announced the deal on Wednesday, which is aimed at releasing scores of hostages held in Gaza and winding down a 15-month war that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.Netanyahu’s office had earlier accused Hamas of backtracking on an earlier understanding that he said would give Israel a veto over which prisoners convicted of murder would be released in exchange for hostages.Netanyahu has faced great domestic pressure to bring home the scores of hostages, but his far-right coalition partners have threatened to bring down his government if he makes too many concessions.Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have meanwhile killed at least 48 people over the past day, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
In previous conflicts, both sides have stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires as a way to project strength.Around half of the dead were women and children, Zaher al-Wahedi, head of the ministry’s registration department, told The Associated Press.He said the toll could rise as hospitals update their records.The war began when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into Israel in a surprise attack on Oct.
7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250.Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, and...