Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached. The announcement came a day after Netanyahuâs office said there were last minute snags in talks to free hostages in return for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Netanyahu said he will convene his security Cabinet later on Friday and then the government to approve the ceasefire agreement.
On Thursday, Netanyahu's office said the Cabinet wonât meet to approve the agreement for a and the release of until Hamas backs down, accusing the group of reneging on parts of the agreement in an attempt to gain further concessions.
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 72 people since the ceasefire deal was announced, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. 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 go into effect as a way to project strength.
expected to begin Sunday, 33 hostages are set to be released over the next six weeks, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The remainder, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second 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.
Israelâs offensive has killed over 46,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry. It does not say how many of the dead were militants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
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Netanyahu says Israeli officials have reached a deal to return hostages after last minute snags
JERUSALEM â Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached.
The announcement came a day after Netanyahuâs office said there were last minute snags in talks to free hostages in return for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Netanyahu said he will convene his security Cabinet on Friday and then the government to approve the ceasefire agreement.
Trump says ceasefire better be finalized before his inauguration
WASHINGTON â President-elect Donald Trump said the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas better be finalized before his inauguration on Monday and said his involvement was crucial for the negotiation.
âWe changed the course of it, and we changed it fast, and frankly, it better be done before I take the oath of office,â he said in a podcast interview with .
Trump also said âwe shook hands, and we signed certain documents, but it better be done.â
He claimed Biden hadnât done anything.
âIâm not looking for credit. I want to get these people out,â he said. âWeâve got to get them out.â
The truce is expected to begin Sunday, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a âlast-minute crisisâ with Hamas is holding up his governmentâs approval.
What awaits Palestinians on the other side of a ceasefire?
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are eager to leave and return to their homes if a long-awaited ceasefire agreement halts the war, but many will find there's .
And itâs unclear when â or even if â much will be rebuilt.
Two-thirds of structures in Gaza have been destroyed
The full extent of the damage will only be known when the fighting ends and inspectors have full access to the territory.
Using , the United Nations estimated last month that 69% of the structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, including over 245,000 homes.
Mountains of rubble will need to be moved
Before anything can be rebuilt, the rubble must be removed â a staggering task in itself.
The U.N. estimates that the war has littered Gaza with over 50 million tons of rubble. That's roughly 12 times the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza. With over 100 trucks working full time, it would take over 15 years to clear the rubble away.
The debris also contains huge amounts of unexploded ordnance as well as human remains. Gazaâs Health Ministry says thousands of people killed in Israeli airstrikes are still .
No plan for the day after
All this will require billions of dollars and the ability to bring construction materials and heavy equipment into the territory â neither of which are assured.
The ceasefire and hostage deal doesnât say whether Israel and Egypt will lift a blockade on Gaza they imposed when Hamas seized power in 2007.
International donors are unlikely to invest in an ungoverned territory that has seen five wars in less than two decades, which means the sprawling tent camps along the coast could become a permanent feature of life in Gaza.
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A far-right ally of Netanyahu says heâll quit if Israel approves Gaza ceasefire
JERUSALEM â Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threated on Thursday night to leave the government if Israel approves a ceasefire, but said his party would rejoin the government if fighting in Gaza continued.
Even if âs party leaves the government, it does not rob Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a parliamentary majority and force early elections.
It also would not stop a ceasefire deal if the plan comes to a Cabinet vote for approval, which could happen as early as Friday.
Ben-Gvir said the ceasefire was ârecklessâ and would âdestroy all of Israelâs achievements.â
A settler leader, Ben Gvir has become one of Israelâs most influential politicians, reflecting a rightward shift in the Israeli electorate that brought his religious, ultranationalist ideology into the mainstream and diminished hopes for Palestinian independence.
Palestinian leaders in the West Bank get ready for a potential return to Gaza
RAMALLAH, West Bank â Palestinian leaders who administer the occupied West Bank are getting ready in case theyâre tasked with running critical services and setting up an interim government in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa met with top officials to discuss plans for reintegrating government institutions in Gaza, including the territoryâs health care, education, water and power sectors, as well as coordinating a surge of humanitarian aid.
Thereâs still no plan for who will govern Gaza after the war.
Israel has said it will work with local Palestinians not affiliated with Hamas or the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. But itâs unclear if such partners exist, and Hamas has threatened anyone who cooperates with Israeli forces.
EU says itâs ready to resume monitoring a key Gaza border crossing
BRUSSELS -- The European Union mission that once monitored the Gaza-Egypt border crossing at Rafah will send a delegation to Cairo early next week to help implement the ceasefire deal, according to the Egyptian government.
A spokesperson for the EU Commission, Anouar El Anouni, confirmed Thursday that the EU was âupdating our plans to possibly redeployâ to Rafah.
He emphasized the deployment âremains dependent on full consentâ from both Israeli and Palestinian authorities.
Since Israeli forces captured the city of Rafah last May, the border has been closed to all civilians. Israeli, Egyptian and Palestinian officials have been unable to agree on the terms to reopen it.
The preliminary ceasefire deal calls for hundreds of aid trucks to enter the besieged territory each day.
On Thursday, the EU said it had approved 120 million euros, or some $123 million, worth of humanitarian aid to address food security, shelter and healthcare for Gaza.
Secretary of State Blinken expects the Gaza ceasefire deal will start as planned this weekend
WASHINGTON â U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he âfullyâ expects the ceasefire deal in Gaza will be implemented as expected on Sunday, despite Israel pointing to a last-minute dispute with Hamas.
Blinken faced two significant interruptions at his final briefing to reporters in office, both from people accusing him of complicity in Israeli violence against Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Diplomatic security physically removed one person who shouted, âWhy arenât you in the Hague?â a reference to the worldâs top war-crimes court.
Blinken and other members of the Biden administration have faced criticism for the civilian casualties and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as well as for not imposing meaningful restrictions on sending arms to Israel.
Blinken called the ceasefire and hostage deal âa moment of historic possibility for the region.â
However, he said it would still âtake tremendous effort, political courage, compromise ... to deliver on the promise of a more integrated Middle East.â
Israel says it launched 50 airstrikes in Gaza over the past day
JERUSALEM â The Israeli military said Thursday it launched 50 airstrikes in Gaza over the past day.
The military said it targeted places associated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, including weapons storage facilities, sites to launch rockets, weapons manufacturing sites, and other military infrastructure, without providing evidence.
People in Gaza are shocked Israel still hasnât agreed to the ceasefire
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip â Displaced Palestinians in central Gaza woke up Thursday shocked and disappointed to learn that Israel still hadnât approved the ceasefire deal with Hamas.
âWe went to sleep happy. Itâs a shame that they would deprive us of this happiness," said Karam Moeiliq. âEveryone has losses. Itâs enough.â
Hours after getting their hopes up about returning home, families sheltering in Deir al-Balah are grappling with uncertainty about their future.
âWe ask our brothers in Hamas to communicate with mediators to end the war. Enough with the destruction and killing,â said Omar Jendiya from Gaza City.
At least 72 Palestinians were killed across the war-torn territory since the deal was announced on Wednesday. The truce is expected to begin Sunday.
âWe want peace. We want to live like everyone in the world is living," said Fayqa Hussein, a displaced woman from Jabaliya refugee camp. âWe want to live in safety. We want to teach our children what they missed at school.â
Qatari prime minister makes first visit to Syria since Bashar Assadâs ouster
DAMASCUSâQatarâs prime minister and foreign minister made a landmark visit to Syria on Thursday, the first since Bashar Assadâs ouster, pledging to support the countryâs recovery and calling on the international community to âswiftlyâ remove sanctions.
The prime ministerâs trip to Syria comes a day after he announced a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
âWe are on the verge of a new phase in Syriaâs history, and Qatar extends its hand to the Syrian people for partnership,â Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said during a press conference.
The Qataris met with Ahmad al-Sharaa, who heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist group leading the new authority in Syria.
Al Thani said Israeli forces must withdraw from a U.N.-monitored in Syria they captured last month.
For his part, Sharaa said his country is ready to welcome international forces to the buffer zone, adding that Qatar will have âa central roleâ in creating global pressure on Israel to withdraw.
Qatar is a close ally of Turkey, which has long backed the rebels who now control Damascus, and the two countries are looking to protect their interests in Syria after Assadâs fall.
Israeli strikes kill at least 72 Palestinians since ceasefire deal was announced, Gaza officials say
Gazaâs Health Ministry says Israeli strikes have killed at least 72 people since a ceasefire deal was announced on Wednesday.
In previous conflicts, both sides have stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires take effect as a way to project strength.
The ministry says the toll from Thursdayâs strikes only includes bodies brought to two hospitals in Gaza City, and that the actual toll is likely higher.
âYesterday was a bloody day, and today is bloodier,â said Zaher al-Wahedi, head of the ministryâs registration department.
Israeli group holds demonstration against ceasefire deal
JERUSALEM â A group representing some families of soldiers killed fighting in Gaza held a demonstration Thursday against a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
The Gvura Forum opposes the deal, saying it wonât lead to Hamasâ destruction and that it will free Palestinians convicted of deadly crimes against Israelis. The agreement could also leave some Israeli hostages behind in Gaza if it collapses, the group said.
The group set up rows of mock coffins draped in the Israeli flag in Jerusalem to symbolize the price Israel will pay if it agrees to the deal.
âItâs a very dangerous deal,â said Yehoshua Shani, whose son Ori Mordehai Shani was killed in battle in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. He believed the incoming Trump administration could exert more pressure on Hamas and secure better terms.
Many Israelis support a ceasefire deal that would bring the hostages home and end the war in Gaza. But some families of fallen soldiers and of hostages oppose any agreement that they perceive grants too many concessions to Hamas.
Russia voices hope that ceasefire can secure lasting stability in Gaza
MOSCOW â Russiaâs Foreign Ministry voiced hopes Thursday that the long-awaited agreement to pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip will help secure lasting stability in Gaza.
Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova praised âthe patient and persistent work of Qatari and Egyptian mediatorsâ who helped broker the agreement and noted that âat the final stage, representatives of the new American administration also joined the negotiating marathon.â
"We expect that the implementation of the agreement reached now will contribute to the sustainable stabilization of the situation in Gaza and create conditions for the return of all internally displaced persons ... and allow Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners released as a result of the deal to join their families,â Zakharova said at a briefing.
She specifically mentioned Russian citizen Alexander Trufanov, who was held in the Gaza Strip along other hostages.
âWe believe that the conclusion of this agreement will contribute to the formation of the necessary conditions for establishing a process of a comprehensive political settlement of the Palestinian problem on a generally accepted international legal basis,â Zakharova added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also welcomed the deal.
âAny settlement that would result in a ceasefire and end the suffering of the people of Gaza while helping ensure security of Israel can only be welcomed,â Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
Families mourn 4 killed in Israeli strike in southern Gaza
Mourners held a Muslim funeral service on Thursday for a Palestinian journalist who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza the previous day.
The strike hit a food charity known as Tikia in the Muwasi area in the city of Khan Younis Wednesday evening as people were waiting for the announcement of the ceasefire deal, according to the Naser hospital and the journalistsâ relatives.
The journalist, Ahmed al-Shaiyah, was killed in the strike along with three other people, according to the hospital, which received the bodies.
âInstead of receiving news of the truce, we received news of his martyrdom,â the journalistâs brother, Ismail al-Shaiyah, told the AP.
âWe were waiting to rest and get rid of this nightmare, but my son was martyred in the last hour. He was gone from me,â said Nagat Moammar, the mother of one of those killed.
China welcomes Gaza ceasefire, hopes it is âcomprehensive and permanentâ
TAIWAN â Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Thursday that Beijing welcomes the ceasefire deal and hopes it can be âeffectively implemented so a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in Gaza can be achieved.â
China will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza and make âpositive effortsâ for post-war reconstruction, he added.
âWe also sincerely hope that the relevant parties will take the Gaza ceasefire as an opportunity to promote the easing of local tensions. China is willing to work with the international community to make unremitting efforts to promote peace and stability in the Middle East,â Guo said.
Iran-backed militia will suspend operations against Israel, its leader says
BAGHDAD â The leader of the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Harakat al-Nujaba announced Thursday the suspension of the groupâs operations against Israel following the declaration of a Gaza ceasefire agreement but warned they could start again if there were violations of the truce.
In a statement, Akram al-Kaabi congratulated the Palestinian people and âfreedom-lovingâ individuals worldwide on âthis important development.â
âWe will suspend our military operations against (Israel) in solidarity with the halt of operations in Palestine and to support the continuation of the ceasefire in Gaza, but let the occupying entity know that any foolishness from them in Palestine or the region will be met with a harsh response,â he added.
Al-Kaabi said the group's missiles and drones âremain on permanent standby.â
During the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iraqi militias launched a series of drone attacks targeting U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq as well as sites in Israel.
Syria's foreign minister calls for lifting of sanctions
ANKARA, Turkey â Syriaâs new foreign minister has called for a lifting of sanctions that were imposed on his country during former President Bashar Assadâs rule.
In an interview with Turkish state broadcaster TRT that aired Thursday, Asaad al-Shibani also said Syriaâs new leadership wanted to âopen a new pageâ in its diplomatic relations with countries that had cut diplomatic ties with Damascus during the Syrian civil war.
âThe economic sanctions are one of the problems that the old regime left us,â al-Shibani said in the interview, which aired a day after he met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish officials in Ankara. âWe are saying that there is no longer any need for them. The old regime is gone.â
âThese sanctions must be lifted in order for people to live in better economic conditions and for security and economic stability to be achieved,â he added.
Indonesia calls for the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state as it welcomes the ceasefire
JAKARTA â Indonesiaâs Foreign Affairs Ministry has welcomed the ceasefire and called for its immediate implementation, along with the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state.
âPeace in Palestine cannot be achieved without the end of Israelâs occupation and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, in accordance with the two-state solution based on agreed international parameters,â it said in a statement on Thursday.
Muslim-majority Indonesia has long been a strong supporter of Palestinians.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard says ceasefire is a âgreat victoryâ for Hamas
TEHRAN, Iran â Iranâs Revolutionary Guard has applauded the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and called it a âgreat victoryâ for Hamas and the resistance front.
âThis great victory, like the âal-Aqsa storm,â which was a multifaceted and irreparable defeat for the Zionists, did not bring any gains for the Zionist regime, and the resistance remained alive, thriving and strong,â the Guard said in a statement on Thursday, referring to the Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack that sparked the war.
Iranâs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei later said in a post on social platform X that the patience of the resistance front forced Israel to retreat.
âIt will be written in books that there was a mob who once killed thousands of children & women in Gaza! Everyone will realize it was the patience of the people & steadfastness of Palestinian Resistance & Resistance Front that forced Zionist regime to retreat,â he wrote in a post on the social platform X on Thursday.
Pakistan hails ceasefire but criticizes Israel for âunprecedented loss of livesâ
ISLAMABAD â Pakistanâs Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that Islamabad welcomes the ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas and calls for its immediate and full implementation.
âIndiscriminate use of force by Israeli occupation forces has caused unprecedented loss of lives and property and displacement of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilian Palestinians. Israelâs expansionist designs have destabilized the entire region,â the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
It added that Pakistan hopes the truce will lead to a permanent ceasefire and help scale up humanitarian assistance.
Japan and South Korea welcome Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza
TOKYO â Japan and South Korea have separately welcomed the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza as a key step toward improving humanitarian conditions and calming the situation in the territory.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, speaking to reporters in Tokyo on Thursday, urged Israel and Hamas to implement the agreement âsincerely and steadilyâ and he praised the United States, Egypt and Qatar for their work to achieve the deal.
South Koreaâs Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, called for a âthorough and swift implementationâ of the agreement so that âall hostages are released and the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip improves.â
The Associated Press
