Egypt Daily News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of reneging on some details of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza on Thursday, which led to a delay in the Israeli government’s approval of it.
“Hamas is backing away from parts of the agreement reached with the mediators and Israel in an attempt to extract last-minute concessions,” Netanyahu said in a statement. He added, “The Israeli government will not meet until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement.”
However, Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri confirmed to Agence France-Presse that “there is no basis for Netanyahu’s claims about the movement’s decline,” calling on the US administration to “compel the Israel to implement the agreement.”
The agreement stipulates, in the first stage, a truce starting from Sunday and the release of 33 hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of a thousand Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons, and the entry of more humanitarian aid.
After more than a year of faltering, and with the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump approaching Monday to succeed Joe Biden, the indirect negotiations taking place in Doha intensified, which led on Wednesday evening to a three-stage agreement that stipulates in the first stage a truce starting from Sunday and the release of 33 detained hostages from Gaza and in exchange for the release of a thousand Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons, plus the entry of more humanitarian aid.
