Hours before a ceasefire in the Gaza war was to begin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they would “not be able to move forward with a framework” until they received a list of hostages whom Hamas would release.
Mr Netanyahu said in a post, “Until we receive a list of hostages to be released, as was agreed, we will be unable to move forward with the framework. Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. Hamas will completely Is responsible for.” X in Hebrew.
Mediator Qatar said the truce was scheduled to begin Sunday morning after Israel’s cabinet voted to approve a cease-fire and hostage-prisoner release deal.
Qatar and the US, which brokered the deal with Egypt, announced the deal on Wednesday, following which Israeli attacks on Gaza have continued.
On Saturday, Gaza’s Civil Protection Rescue Agency said at least five members of a family were killed in an attack on their tent in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, AFP news agency reported. Explosions were heard in Jerusalem after airstrike sirens were sounded and the military said a projectile was launched from Yemen, whose Iran-backed Houthi rebels say they support the Palestinians.
In the more than 15-month-long war between Hamas and Israel, there was only a week-long ceasefire in November 2023. That agreement also saw the release of hostages held by terrorists in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Israel’s Justice Ministry earlier said 737 Palestinian prisoners and detainees would be released under the first phase of the deal – none before 4pm (1400 GMT) on Sunday.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani said 33 hostages held by militants in Gaza would be released as part of an initial 42-day ceasefire.
Sheikh Mohammed told Sky News that the framework signed this week was identical to the framework agreed on December 23, and that it amounts to “13 months of wasting details of negotiations”.
The ceasefire will come into effect on the eve of the inauguration of Donald Trump for his second term as US President.
A Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggered the war and resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Of the 251 taken hostage, 94 are still in Gaza, of whom 34 have been killed according to the Israeli military.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,899 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.
With inputs from AFP