Hostage and Gaza ceasefire deal officially signed – Axios

17.01.2025/19/41 XNUMX:XNUMX    261

 

However, its approval and start of action were delayed by at least a day.

An agreement between Israel and Hamas to release hostages held in Gaza and begin a ceasefire was officially signed by negotiators in Doha on Thursday, Axios reported, citing sources.

The agreement was signed by representatives of Israel, Qatar, and Hamas. Brett McGurk, President Biden's top Middle East adviser, signed on behalf of the United States.

According to the publication's sources, the Israeli government will vote to ratify the agreement no earlier than Saturday evening.

According to Israeli officials, the delay in the vote will delay the start of the ceasefire and the release of the first three hostages from Sunday until at least Monday.

The Israeli security cabinet was scheduled to meet to approve the deal on Thursday morning, but several last-minute disagreements delayed the formal signing of the agreement by a day.

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According to a US source, after the deal was announced on Wednesday night, there was disagreement over the final list of Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of the deal.

Israeli and American officials said Hamas demanded that several names on the list be replaced with militant military leaders serving multiple life sentences for planning and organizing terrorist attacks.

Israel previously used its veto power under the agreement to block their release, but Hamas has again raised them as a new demand in the negotiations.

President Biden's Middle East envoy Brett McGurk, President-elect Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, and Qatari and Egyptian mediators worked for several hours to resolve the issue.

However, even after the issue was resolved, it took several more hours for the agreement to be officially signed.

Israel's security cabinet is expected to meet Friday morning to vote on the deal. The full cabinet will meet Saturday evening.




Under Israeli law, Palestinian prisoners cannot be released from prison without a vote by the government. If the deal is approved, the public will have 24 hours to appeal to the courts.

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According to the agreement, 33 hostages will be released in the first phase of the deal, including wounded or sick women, children, men over 50, and men under 50. Israel estimates that most of these 33 hostages are alive.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ultranationalist coalition partners, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said they would vote against the deal.

Sources report that Netanyahu met with Smotrich on Thursday and urged him not to resign and shared information about discussions on a deal with the new Trump administration.

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Ben Gvir held a press conference and announced that he would resign and his party would leave the coalition if the Israeli cabinet approved the deal. He added that he would be ready to rejoin the coalition if Israel resumed hostilities in Gaza after the 42-day ceasefire included in the first phase of the deal.

Representatives of Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud party criticized Ben Gvir and accused him of trying to overthrow the right-wing government.

The ruling party claims that the deal includes US guarantees that would allow Israel to resume the war and receive weapons from the US.

Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said on CNN that the new administration has assured Netanyahu of support if Hamas abandons any part of the deal.


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