The US Secretary of State said he was “confident” a ceasefire would begin, as anticipated, on Sunday as Israel’s cabinet was expected to meet on Friday to approve the hostage deal following last-ditch negotiations.
In his last news conference as America’s top diplomat, Antony Blinken said he was “confident” and “fully expect[s] that implementation will begin on Sunday”.
It followed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelling a cabinet session on Thursday, claiming Hamas had “reneged on parts of the agreement reached with mediators and Israel in an effort to extort last-minute concessions”.
The Israeli leader’s spokesman said the hold-up concerned the Philadelphi corridor, the strip of land between Gaza and Egypt. According to a copy of the deal, seen by Reuters, Israeli forces will gradually reduce their forces in the area during the first 50 days of the ceasefire.
A US official said there were also snags related to the identities of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for Israeli hostages.
Hamas claimed it had fully accepted the ceasefire deal that was announced on Wednesday, with the first phase of the ceasefire due to begin on Sunday.
Negotiations continued yesterday in Qatar, and reached a successful conclusion, according to Israeli officials.
The Israeli cabinet is now due to meet on Friday morning to approve the agreement, according to local media.
In an apparent sign the ceasefire was moving forward, Israel’s defence ministry said it had “directed that all ministry capabilities be made available for implementing the hostage release deal, receiving the returning hostages, and supporting their families”.
Activists block a road during a protest against the ceasefire (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)Netanyahu faced domestic opposition throughout the day, as the far-right Religious Zionism party threatened to resign without a commitment to “return to the war to destroy Hamas” after phase one of the deal, potentially placing his coalition at risk.
His hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would resign from government if it approved the ceasefire deal in Gaza.
“This is a terrible deal and if it will actually go through, we members of Otzma Yehudit [a political party] will give letters of resignation to the Prime Minister, we will no longer be part of the government and we will leave it,” he said on Thursday evening.
While Netanyahu’s ruling coalition looks increasingly fragile, the resignation of Ben-Gvir and his party would not topple the government immediately, with the centrist leader of the parliamentary opposition, Yair Lapid, vowing to lend the government its support in order to ratify the hostage deal.
In Jerusalem, hundreds of protesters opposing the deal and groups representing families of dead soldiers blocked traffic, with a crowd of Orthodox teenagers chanting: “Jewish blood is not cheap”.
Ben-Gvir announcing his conditional intent to resign (Photo: Oren Ben Hakoon)A minister from Netanyahu’s own Likud party, Amichai Chikli, also threatened to resign if Israel withdrew from the Philadelphi corridor.
Under the terms of the complex agreement, the parties will negotiate follow-on deals during the first phase, a six-week truce during which 33 Israeli hostages held by Hamas will be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
A second and third phase will see all remaining Israeli hostages and more Palestinian prisoners released during truces, leading to a formal end of the war.
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Read MoreHamas claims to have assurances from mediators that Israel will follow the process to the conclusion, although Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted that Israel’s campaign in Gaza will continue until the militant group is destroyed.
Gershon Baskin, an Israeli negotiator who has been involved with back-channel talks, said Netanyahu would be likely to need a “green light” to resume the war from president-elect Donald Trump, who has pressured both sides to agree a deal.
Israeli bombing of Gaza continued on Thursday despite a ceasefire being expected to start in just a few days.
At least 77 Palestinians were killed, including 21 children, since the deal was announced on Wednesday, according to Palestinian medics.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said one of its staff was among the dead.
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)Ihab Faisal, 33, was reportedly killed with his wife and two children when an air strike hit his home in Gaza City.
The World Health Organisation called for help to surge humanitarian aid into Gaza when the ceasefire takes effect, with the deal specifying that 600 trucks should enter the territory each day from Sunday.
“The UN cannot deliver the response alone,” said a spokesperson. “Now is the time for member states, donors and the global community to step up.”
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