Israel retains the “right” to resume fighting if negotiations with Hamas over the implementation of a ceasefire – expected to take effect today – do not progress, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.
Speaking hours before a long-sought Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was expected to take effect, Mr Netanyahu warned: “If we must return to fighting, we will do that in new, forceful ways.”
US President Joe Biden and president-elect Donald Trump, who takes over from his Democratic rival after his inauguration on Monday, gave “full backing to Israel’s right to return to combat if Israel concludes that negotiations on Phase B are futile”, the Israeli PM said.
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Qatari officials who brokered the deal between Israel and Hamas, the militant group ruling Gaza, said the ceasefire will come into effect from today at 6.30am UK time after it was approved by the Israeli cabinet on Friday night.
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In its first stage, the deal would see 33 of the 98 hostages freed over the course of six weeks. About half of the 98 are believed to be alive.
The remainder are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first.
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Between 990 and 1,650 Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be released in exchange, depending on the number of hostages freed.
Mr Netanyahu, who has faced resignation threats by the far-right members of his government over the terms of the ceasefire agreement, said yesterday the deal wouldn’t go ahead if Hamas failed to release a list of the 33 hostages due to be released.
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His office said in a statement: “We will not move forward with the outline until we receive the list of hostages to be released, as agreed.
“Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. The sole responsibility lies with Hamas.”
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The truce, brokered on Wednesday by the US, Qatar and Egypt following months of indirect talks between the warring parties, is the second one since the war broke out in Gaza.
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Israel launched a powerful military campaign on the densely populated enclave following Hamas’s unprecedented attack on 7 October 2023 which saw militants paragliding into southern Israel and killing 1,200 people.
About 250 people were taken hostage during the attack, with nearly 100 still in captivity.
The 15-month war in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who also claim women and children make up more than half of the deaths.
