Netanyahu says deal to release hostages held in Gaza has been reached

Genevieve Beauchemin reports on what’s holding up Israel’s ratification of the ceasefire deal with Hamas in the Middle East.

TEL AVIV, Israel — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached, after his office had said earlier there were last minute snags in finalizing a ceasefire that would pause 15 months of war.

Netanyahu said he would convene his security Cabinet later Friday and then the government to approve the long-awaited agreement.

Netanyahu’s statement appeared to clear the way for the Israeli government to approve of the deal, which would pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and see dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. It would also allow hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to the remains of their homes in Gaza.

Israeli airstrikes, meanwhile, killed at least 72 people in the war-ravaged territory on Thursday.

Israel initially delayed a vote Thursday on the ceasefire, blaming a last-minute dispute with Hamas for holding up the approval as rising tensions in Netanyahu’s government coalition raised concerns about the implementation of the deal just a day after U.S. President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar announced it was complete.

Netanyahu’s office had accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement in an attempt to gain further concessions -- without specifying which parts.

In a briefing Thursday, David Mencer, an Israeli government spokesman, said Hamas' new demands dealt with the deployment of Israeli forces in the Philadelphi corridor, the narrow strip bordering Egypt that Israeli troops seized in May.

Hamas denied the claims, with Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, saying the militant group “is committed to the ceasefire agreement, which was announced by the mediators.”

The ceasefire agreement has drawn fierce resistance from Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, on whose support the Israeli prime minister depends to remain in power. On Thursday, Israel’s hardline national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, threatened to quit the government if Israel approves the ceasefire.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called on Israel and Hamas to implement a Gaza ceasefire plan “without any delay” in an exclusive interview Thursday with The Associated Press. Egypt has been a key mediator between the enemies for years and a leading player in ongoing ceasefire negotiations.

The deal announced Wednesday would see scores of hostages held in Gaza released and a pause in fighting with a view to eventually wind down a 15-month war that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.

Hamas triggered the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack into Israel that killed some 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.

Israel responded with a devastating offensive that has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.

The military campaign has leveled vast swaths of Gaza, and pushed about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are struggling with hunger and disease in squalid tent camps on the coast.

Netanyahu faces heavy internal pressure

The Israeli prime minister faces great domestic pressure to bring home the hostages, whose families have pleaded with Netanyahu to prioritize the release of their loved ones over politics.

But Israeli divisions over the deal were on stark display Thursday, as Ben-Gvir, a key government coalition partner and Cabinet member, threatened to resign, saying the ceasefire was “reckless” and would “destroy all of Israel’s achievements.”

The departure of Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party would reduce the number of the ruling coalition’s seats in the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, from 68 to 62 -- leaving Netanyahu’s government with just the slimmest of majorities. Ben-Gvir said his party would return to the coalition if Israel resumes its war.

Ben-Gvir’s resignation would not bring down the government or derail the ceasefire deal. But the move destabilizes the Israeli government at a delicate moment and could lead to the government’s collapse if Ben-Gvir is joined by other key Netanyahu allies.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for instance, is vehemently opposed to the agreement and has demanded that Netanyahu promise to resume the war against Hamas after the first phase of the ceasefire as a condition of his party staying in the coalition.

A night of heavy Israeli strikes

Palestinians in Gaza reported heavy Israeli bombardment overnight as people were celebrating the ceasefire deal. In previous conflicts, both sides have stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires as a way to project strength.

“We were expecting that the (Israeli) occupation would intensify the bombing, like they did every time there were reports of progress in truce talks,” said Mohammed Mahdi, who is sheltering in Gaza City.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said Israeli strikes have killed at least 72 people since the ceasefire deal was announced. It said the toll from Thursday’s strikes only includes bodies brought to two hospitals in Gaza City and the actual toll is likely higher.

“Yesterday was a bloody day, and today is bloodier,” said Zaher al-Wahedi, a Health Ministry official.

The Israeli military said it had struck approximately 50 militant targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, including weapons storage facilities and rocket launch sites.

Anxiety spread across Gaza on Thursday with the news of last-minute quarreling between Hamas and Israeli officials.

“We ask our brothers in Hamas to communicate with mediators to end the war,” said Omar Jendiya, in Deir al-Balah. “Enough with the destruction and killing.”

A phased withdrawal and hostage release with potential pitfalls

Under the deal reached Wednesday, 33 of some 100 hostages who remain in Gaza are set to be released over the next six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israeli forces will pull back from many areas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would be able to return to what’s left of their homes, and there would be a surge of humanitarian assistance.

The remainder of the hostages, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second -- and much more difficult -- phase that will be negotiated during the first. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to keep fighting until it dismantles the group and to maintain open-ended security control over the territory.

Ceasefire leaves questions about Gaza’s future unanswered

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy joined the talks in the final weeks, and both the outgoing administration and Trump’s team are taking credit for the breakthrough.

Longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction.

Israel has come under heavy international criticism, including from its closest ally, the United States, over the civilian toll in Gaza. It also blames Hamas for the civilian casualties, accusing it of using schools, hospitals and residential areas for military purposes.

Hamas has come under overwhelming pressure from Israel’s invasion of Gaza’s largest cities and towns and seizure of the border between Gaza and Egypt. Its top leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, who was believed to have helped mastermind the 2023 attack, have been killed.

But its fighters have regrouped in some of the hardest-hit areas after the withdrawal of Israeli forces, raising the prospect of a prolonged insurgency if the war continues.

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By Tia Goldenberg, Wafaa Shurafa And Samy Magdy

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press reporter Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed.