Ahmed Asmar
16 January 2025•Update: 16 January 2025
ANKARA
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas denied on Thursday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claims about reneging on a cease-fire deal announced by mediators, stressing its commitment to the agreement.
"Hamas is committed to the cease-fire agreement announced by the mediators," senior group leader Izzat al-Rishq said in a statement.
Netanyahu's office said early Thursday that the Cabinet would not convene to ratify the cease-fire deal until Hamas approved the agreement announced by mediators.
Israel’s Security Cabinet was scheduled to meet on Thursday to ratify the deal.
According to Israeli media, the Cabinet meeting was delayed as Netanyahu was trying to convince far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich not to withdraw from the government over the Gaza deal.
Qatar announced on Wednesday a cease-fire agreement to end over 15 months of deadly Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the 3-phase deal will be effective on Sunday.
The deal includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
More than 46,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children were killed and over 110,000 others injured in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to local health authorities.
The war has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
