Israeli vote on ceasefire postponed while diplomats work out details

Negotiators raced Thursday to resolve last-minute differences in a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that would free hostages and halt the violence that has devastated Gaza over the past 15 months.

The disagreements helped delay a crucial Israeli vote to approve the deal by at least a day.

Although negotiators from Israel and Hamas reached an agreement Temporary agreement on WednesdayThey continued to discuss outstanding issues through mediators. The Israeli government, whose approval is needed to move the ceasefire forward, was expected to vote on the resolution on Thursday, but the vote was postponed.

The agreement has reopened deep divisions in Israel, where hardline members of the ruling coalition strongly oppose the ceasefire. Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right Israeli Minister of National Security, announced on Thursday evening that his party would resign from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition if the government approved the ceasefire agreement.

The move threatens to destabilize the government at a critical time, but should not, in and of itself, prevent the deal from going ahead.

The United States, which spent months struggling to reach an agreement alongside Qatar and Egypt, played down the delay and insisted that the ceasefire would go into effect on Sunday as planned.

“I am confident and fully expect that implementation will begin,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Thursday. “It’s not entirely surprising that in a process, or a negotiation, that has been so difficult — so fraught with risks — that we might get a loose end. We’re tying up that loose end as we speak.

He added that he had a phone call with the American envoy to the region and Qatari officials in an effort to resolve the final issues.

In Israel, the Prime Minister’s Office accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement.

Omar Dostri, Netanyahu’s spokesman, said in a text message on Thursday: “There is no agreement at the moment.” “So there is no cabinet meeting.”

Izzat al-Rishq, a Hamas official, said that the movement is still committed to the agreement announced by the mediators.

Dostry said last-minute disagreements over the deal included questions about which Palestinians could be released and how Israeli forces would be deployed along Gaza’s border with Egypt during the truce.

After several months of watching negotiations to reach a ceasefire collapse repeatedly, many Gazans, Israelis and others Express only tempered hope About the fate of the current deal.

“I wish I could say I am happy,” said Fadia Nassar, 43, who lost her home in northern Gaza, leading to her displacement to the south. She said the agreement could “collapse for any reason.”

“My heart is broken,” she added. “Maybe I will stay in a tent. Hundreds of thousands will end up in tents.”

Deadly Israeli airstrikes continued in Gaza on Thursday, with the Israeli military saying it hit about 50 targets across the Strip over the past day.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Civil Defense in Gaza, said, “The reality in the Strip is still very difficult and catastrophic.” Emergency service Under the supervision of the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.

Recent Israeli attacks in the Strip resulted in the killing of at least 81 people and the wounding of nearly 200 others. According to To the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Civil Defense said that Israeli raids have killed at least 77 people since the agreement was announced. These allegations could not be independently verified.

The IDF said its recent targets included Hamas and Islamic Jihad activists, their compounds, weapons storage areas and other sites, adding that “numerous steps” had been taken to prevent harm to civilians before the strikes.

The mediators hope the ceasefire agreement — which will begin with a 42-day truce and the release of some hostages — will finally end the war that began with the Hamas-led attack in October 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed in Israel. 250 hostages. The subsequent Israeli military campaign killed tens of thousands of Gazans and forced almost all of the Strip’s residents to flee their homes.

In Israel, Mr. Ben Gvir and other hard-line members of Mr. Netanyahu’s government, the most right-wing and religiously conservative government in Israel’s history, I opposed the deal I pushed for the war to continue until Hamas is eliminated.

Mr. Ben Gvir’s party, Jewish Power, holds six seats in the 120-seat parliament, and the party’s withdrawal from the ruling coalition will reduce its majority from 68 to a very slim 62. He said that his party would offer to rejoin the ruling coalition. Should the government resume the war against Hamas?

Earlier Thursday, dozens of demonstrators in Israel blocked a major highway in Jerusalem to protest the deal, and were eventually dispersed by police.

One of the demonstrators, Eliyahu Shahar (21 years old), said that the agreement constitutes a threat to the safety of Israel and must be rejected, “even if it means the death of more hostages.”

If it comes to a vote, the ceasefire agreement is expected to be approved by Israel even without the support of two far-right parties in the ruling coalition. The deal was praised by the families of the hostages, and opposition parties broadly committed to supporting Netanyahu’s coalition, if necessary, to ensure the implementation of an agreement that would free Israelis still detained in Gaza.

“This is more important than all the differences of opinion we have ever had,” Yair Lapid, Israeli opposition leader, said in a statement.

Yona Schnitzer, 36, a marketing writer from Tel Aviv, said he felt “cautiously optimistic” about the deal. He added: “I hope that an agreement will actually be reached this time.” “If this is confirmed and an agreement is reached, I will feel relieved, firstly because the hostages will return to their homes, and secondly because it will bring us closer to ending this war.”

the Ceasefire agreement You will begin with an initial phase lasting six weeks. The agreement will include the release of 33 hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and allow 600 trucks loaded with humanitarian relief daily into Gaza, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by The New York Times.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the ceasefire agreement as “the hope that the region desperately needs.” But she added that the situation in Gaza remains bleak. she Announce He said that Europe will provide aid worth $123 million to the residents of Gaza this year, in addition to in-kind aid such as food shipments.

Diplomats hope the first phase of the deal will then lead to more permanent terms, a point Mr. Blinken emphasized on Thursday.

He said: “It will take enormous effort, political courage and compromise to realize this possibility, and attempt to ensure the continuity of the gains achieved over the past fifteen months at enormous and painful costs.”

But in Gaza, where ruins dominate the landscape and huge questions remain about what the post-war future will look like, there is uncertainty and exhaustion.

“It is definitely a nice feeling to hear about the ceasefire,” said Nizar Hammad, 31, who lost his home in Gaza City. “But when I think about life after the war, I think about the suffering that will continue. The scale of devastation and loss is enormous.”

“Honestly, I feel numb,” said Aseel Mutair, a 22-year-old from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, whose 16-year-old brother was killed during the war and whose home was destroyed last week.

She added: “We are only waiting for Sunday.” “We don’t know what will happen between now and then.”

Rawan Sheikh Ahmed He contributed reporting from Haifa, Israel and Isabel Kirchner and Nathan Odenheimer From Jerusalem.