Netanyahu declared emphatically. Yet if Israel resumes fighting, this time it won’t be halfway: it will complete with great power, one Jewish observer said. If the agreement is infringed upon, he insists, Israel will redouble its military action.
The ceasefire, brokered by Egypt, was meant to stop the year-long confrontation between Israel and Hamas that has cost 1,700 Israeli lives and nearly 47,000 people – 45,936 Palestinian and 1,706 Israeli – have been reported killed in the Israel–Hamas war, as well as 166 journalists and media workers, 120 academics, and over 224 humanitarian aid workers, a number that includes 179 employees of UNRWA. The agreement would see in its first phase 33 hostages set free by Hamas — in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.
The deal was approved by Netanyahu’s cabinet Saturday morning, with the ceasefire set to take effect Sunday. However, on Saturday evening Netanyahu publicly accused Hamas of not providing the list of hostages it committed to release. “Until this problem is resolved, Israel will not be able to sign the framework,” Netanyahu explained.
“We will be incapable of moving ahead with the deal until we get that list of hostages released,” Netanyahu said. “It’s a matter of agreement. Likewise, Israel will not stand idly by if the terms of the deal are broken. Solely Hamas bears responsibility for this.”
The Israeli prime minister characterized the ceasefire as a victory, emphasizing the release of hostages as one of Israel’s main war goals. But some of the hostage families are angry at Netanyahu, saying he sabotaged previous truce attempts to satisfy his coalition partners – particularly National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
Ben Gvir, an individualist from the right-wing Jewish Power party, was displeased with the agreement and warned that he could withdraw his party from Netanyahu’s coalition. Nevertheless, he showed no intention of destabilizing the government. His opposition highlights the political tensions surrounding the ceasefire in a country where some members of the coalition are against any agreement with Hamas.
Hamas, for its part, denied that anything in Gaza had not been an out-and-out success for it. In a statement, the group accused Israel of committing war crimes throughout the conflict and charged that thereby the Jewish state had caused untold human suffering in Gaza. Israeli officials disagree. With no choice, they argue, military operations were necessary to keep Hamas from attacking the country.
The ceasefire is widely seen as a critical juncture in the ongoing conflict, and many hope it will bring relief to Israelis and Palestinians alike. But with political tensions rising within Israel and the uncertainty of whether Hamas will abide by this agreement, new frictions lie ahead.
According to the Sunday Times, Though the contention that Israel is asking for the release of dead people is part of a prisoner exchange with Hamas there are no credible sources to support it. Directions are that the first stage of the ceasefire agreement sees the hostages involved released. Immediately, more than 33 Israelis held since late June come back to freedom… among them will be women and children still alive: Over 50-year-old men.
Although cases were known where the bodies of dead prisoners were withheld-for example, Walid Deqqa, who died in custody in April/2004-these are separate from events on ceasefire negotiations at present. The decision of the Israeli government to withhold certain deceased prisoners ‘ bodies has been a point of friction, but it is not in the ceasefire agreement at present.
Therefore, the argument that Israel is insisting on the receipt of dead bodies as part of peace talks is unsubstantiated by credible sources and contradicts known facts reported in esteemed news organizations.
