Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a “last-minute crisis” with Hamas is holding up Israel’s approval of a long-awaited ceasefire that would stop fighting in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of hostages. Meanwhile, Israeli air strikes killed at least 72 people in the conflict-torn region.
Netanyahu indicated problems with the deal shortly after US President Joe Biden and the main mediator, Qatar, announced its completion. This has created a dual reality: conflict-weary Palestinians in Gaza, relatives of hostages held there, and world leaders have all welcomed the agreement, which is expected to begin on Sunday, though Netanyahu said it had not yet been finalized.
It is not yet clear whether Netanyahu’s statements reflect a mere maneuver to preserve his divided coalition or whether the agreement is in danger.
The Israeli Cabinet was expected to vote on the agreement on Thursday, but Netanyahu’s office said they would not meet until Hamas backed down, accusing it of reneging on parts of the agreement in an attempt to get more concessions, without elaborating.
Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, said that the movement “is committed to the ceasefire agreement announced by the mediators.”
The agreement announced on Wednesday stipulates the release of dozens of hostages held in Gaza and a halt to fighting, with the aim of ending the 15-month-old conflict that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked global protests.
Hamas sparked the conflict with its October 7, 2023 cross-border attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took 250 hostage.
Israel responded with a ferocious attack that killed more than 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 the dead. Israel says it killed more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
The military campaign also leveled vast areas of Gaza to the ground, and forced about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people to leave their homes. Hundreds of thousands suffer from hunger and disease in squalid camps on the coast, according to United Nations officials.
Netanyahu faces intense internal pressure
Netanyahu’s office earlier accused Hamas of reneging on an understanding that it said would give Israel veto power over the release of prisoners convicted of murder in exchange for the release of hostages.
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The Israeli Prime Minister has faced great internal pressure to return dozens of hostages to his homeland, but his far-right coalition partners have threatened to bring down his government if he makes too many concessions. He has enough opposition support to approve the deal even without these partners, but doing so would weaken his coalition.
One of his far-right allies, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, has already declared his opposition to the agreement. Another, Bezalel Smotrich, posted on X late Wednesday that he was demanding “absolute certainty” that Israel could resume the war at a later date, calling the current deal “bad and dangerous” for Israel.
The departure of both factions would seriously destabilize the government and could lead to early elections.
A night of violent Israeli strikes
Palestinians in Gaza reported heavy Israeli shelling during the night while people were celebrating the ceasefire agreement. In previous conflicts, both sides intensified military operations in the final hours before the ceasefire as a means of showing strength.
Muhammad Mahdi, who fled his home a few months ago and is taking refuge in Gaza City, said: “We expected the occupation to intensify the bombing, as they did every time there were reports of progress in the truce (negotiations).”
Ahmed Matar, who lives near the city’s Al-Ahli Hospital, said he heard “huge air strikes” during the night.
The Gaza Ministry of Health said that Israeli raids have killed at least 72 people since the announcement of the ceasefire agreement. She said that the toll from Thursday’s raids only includes bodies that were transferred to two hospitals in Gaza City, and the actual number is likely to be higher.
Zaher Al-Wahidi, head of the Ministry’s Registration Department, said, “Yesterday was a bloody day, and today is even bloodier.”
An Associated Press reporter on the Israeli side of the border near Gaza heard more airstrikes and artillery fire on Thursday.
Buildings destroyed by Israeli bombing as seen inside the Gaza Strip from southern Israel, Thursday, January 16, 2025.
AFP Photos/Ariel Shalit
Gradual withdrawal and release of hostages with potential risks
Under the agreement reached on Wednesday, 33 of about 100 hostages still in Gaza are scheduled to be released over the next six weeks in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinians detained by Israel. Israeli forces will withdraw from many areas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians will be able to return to what remains of their homes, and there will be an increase in humanitarian aid.
The remaining hostages, including the male soldiers, are scheduled to be released in a second – and much more difficult – phase, which will be negotiated during the first. Hamas said it would not release the remaining prisoners without a permanent ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal, while Israel pledged to continue fighting until it dismantles the group and maintains open security control over the region.
The ceasefire leaves questions about Gaza’s future unanswered
Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States are expected to meet in Cairo on Thursday for talks on implementing the agreement, which came after a year of intense talks that witnessed repeated setbacks.
US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy joined the talks in recent weeks, and credits the outgoing administration and Trump’s team with making the breakthrough.
Many long-term questions remain about post-conflict Gaza, including who will govern the area or oversee the arduous task of reconstruction.
Israel has come under intense international criticism, including from its closest ally, the United States, over civilian casualties in Gaza. It also holds Hamas responsible for civilian casualties, and accuses it of using schools, hospitals, and residential areas for military purposes.
Hamas, the armed group that does not accept Israel’s existence, has come under enormous pressure as a result of Israeli military operations, including the invasion of Gaza’s largest cities and towns and the seizure of the Gaza-Egypt border. Its senior leaders were killed, including Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to have helped orchestrate the October 7, 2023, attack.
But its fighters have regrouped in some of the worst-hit areas after the withdrawal of Israeli forces, raising the possibility of a long-term insurgency if the conflict continues.
Al-Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press correspondent Sam McNeil in southern Israel contributed.
