Gaza deal: Israel on Gaza deal: Hamas blocks itself and triggers crisis

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamas in the Gaza Strip is refusing to agree to parts of the agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages. The Islamist organization’s goal is to “extort concessions at the last minute,” he said through his office that morning. The Israeli cabinet will therefore only meet to approve the deal “when the mediators inform Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement.” The meeting was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. (CET).

Hamas had caused a crisis in the negotiations, Netanyahu’s office said. The Islamists contradicted this: Issat al-Rishk, a member of the Hamas Politburo, said via Telegram that Hamas stood by the ceasefire agreement announced by the mediators.

According to the Israeli broadcaster Kan, the reason for the postponement of the cabinet meeting is that the right-wing extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich Netanyahu has not yet informed Netanyahu whether his party is leaving the government in protest against the planned agreement.

According to Israeli information, details of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip previously officially announced by Qatar and the USA are currently being clarified in Qatar. According to the Israeli news site Ynet, these are “technical details” such as the exact composition of the list of Palestinian prisoners to be released from Israeli prisons.