Mon, Feb 10, 2025 | Shaaban 11, 1446 | DXB ktweather icon0°C

Final disputes in Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel, Hamas resolved: Source

Hours after a ceasefire and hostage release deal was announced, Israel intensified strikes on Gaza

Published: Thu 16 Jan 2025, 12:57 PM

Updated: Thu 16 Jan 2025, 11:20 PM

  • By
  • Reuters, AFP

Top Stories

People celebrate along a street in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on January 15, 2025. Photo: AFP file

People celebrate along a street in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on January 15, 2025. Photo: AFP file

The final disputes holding up a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas have been resolved, Axios reported on Thursday, citing an unnamed U.S. official.

Axios did not provide details.

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

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier accused Hamas of backtracking on some details of a Gaza ceasefire deal on Thursday, holding up its approval by the Israeli government.

"Hamas reneges on parts of the agreement reached with the mediators and Israel in an effort to extort last-minute concessions," a statement from Netanyahu said.

"The Israeli Cabinet will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement."

Hamas, however, denied Israel's claim, with two senior leaders rejecting the allegations.

"There is no basis to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's claims about the movement backtracking from terms in the ceasefire agreement," one Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, told AFP.

Hamas political bureau member Izzat al-Rishq said separately in a statement that: "Hamas is committed to the ceasefire agreement, which was announced by the mediators."

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 was slated for Thursday, it was reported earlier.

Hours after a ceasefire and hostage release deal was announced, Israel intensified strikes on Gaza, residents and authorities in the Palestinian enclave said.

Hamas's armed wing warned on Thursday that Israel's continuing air strikes and shelling in Gaza after the announcement of a ceasefire deal was risking hostages meant to be released.

"Any aggression and shelling at this stage by the enemy could turn the freedom of a prisoner into a tragedy," the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades said on Telegram, referring to the dozens of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the October 7, 2023 attack.

Without offering details, Abu Obeida, spokesman for the armed wing, said an Israeli strike had hit a place where one of the women to be freed "in the first stage of the ceasefire deal was located".

The complex ceasefire accord between Israel and Hamas emerged on Wednesday after mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the US and 15 months of bloodshed that 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 Hamas would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel.

ALSO READ:



Next Story