JERUSALEM – Israel yesterday accused Hamas of backtracking on parts of the Gaza ceasefire deal announced a day earlier, and said cabinet will not meet on the deal until Hamas’s agreement is confirmed. 

“Hamas has reneged on parts of the agreement reached with the mediators and Israel in an effort to extort last-minute concessions”, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement, adding the situation created a “last-minute crisis”. It did not specify which parts of the deal were at issue. 

The statement added that the Israeli cabinet, which has yet to approve the agreement, “will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement.” 

Key mediator Qatar said Wednesday that Israel and Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas had agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza, starting on Sunday, along with a hostage and prisoner exchange after more than 15 months of war. 

The United States also announced the deal, which largely reproduces the framework of a blueprint presented by president Joe Biden in May 2024. 

Thirty-three Israeli hostages will be released in the first, 42-day, phase of the agreement, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani said. 

Meanwhile, from Tehran, Iran welcomed a ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Hamas and Israel as a “victory” for Palestinians, and a “defeat” for Israel. 

The long-awaited agreement, announced late Wednesday by Qatar and the United States, would take effect on Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a broader peace deal would be finalised. 

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed Palestinian “resistance” after the truce announcement to halt more than 15 months of fighting, saying “the patience of the people of Gaza and the steadfastness of the Palestinian resistance forced the Zionist regime to retreat.” 

He added that Israel was “defeated” after committing “the most heinous crimes, killing thousands of women and children” during its military campaign in Gaza. 

Iran’s foreign ministry called for the “full implementation of the agreed arrangements, including the complete cessation of genocide and killings in Gaza, the complete withdrawal of the occupiers, and the immediate and extended aid delivery to the Gaza Strip.” 

It also urged “the immediate start of the reconstruction” of Gaza. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps similarly praised the ceasefire agreement as a win for the Palestinians. 

“The end of the war and the imposition of a ceasefire… is a clear victory and a great victory for Palestine, as well as a larger defeat for the monstrous Zionist regime,” the IRGC statement said. 

Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also welcomed the truce, stating that it caused the “Zionist regime to fail in achieving its strategic goals.” 

He called for actions to “punish the criminal regime, and heal the wounds of the Palestinian nation.” Iran does not recognise Israel, and the two countries have been sworn enemies for decades. 

The Gaza war, which broke out in October 2023, drew in Tehran-aligned militants in the Middle East, and included rare direct attacks between Iran and Israel. – Nampa/AFP