Netanyahu’s office: Ceasefire deal reached with Hamas
Israel agreed to a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, with the security Cabinet due to meet on Friday to approve it, several Israeli media outlets reported early on Friday.
“The [full Cabinet] will later convene to approve the deal,” a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said without specifying exactly when the entire Cabinet would vote on the deal.
The statement added that relatives of the hostages had been informed and preparations were underway to receive the released hostages upon their return.
Israeli far-right minister threatens to quit over Gaza ceasefire deal
Israel’s extreme-right security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has threatened to resign from his Cabinet position should the Israeli government approve the ceasefire deal negotiated with Hamas.
“The deal that is taking shape is a reckless deal,” he said in a televised statement, saying the release of hundreds of Palestinian militants and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from strategic areas of the Gaza Strip would “erase the achievements of the war” while leaving Hamas undefeated.
He called the deal “irresponsible” and called on humanitarian aid and the supply of water and electricity to the Gaza Strip to be stopped completely until all Israeli hostages were released.
Israel’s security cabinet was expected to vote on the deal on Thursday, but the session has been postponed due to alleged internal disagreements, according to Israeli media.
In addition to Ben-Gvir, the far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, is also reportedly opposed to the deal.
WHO says at least $10 billion needed to rebuild Gaza’s health system
At least $10 billion will be needed to rebuild Gaza’s health system over the next five to seven years, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated on Thursday.
“The needs are massive,” the UN health agency’s representative in the Palestinian territories, Rik Peeperkorn, said.
With a ceasefire on the horizon, Peeperkorn said his team’s initial estimate of the cost to rebuild the health sector was “even more than $3 billion for the first 1.5 years and then actually $10 billion for the [next] five to seven years.”
“In Gaza, we all know the destruction is so massive. I have never seen that anywhere else in my life,” he said.
Meanwhile, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “less than half of Gaza hospitals are functional.”
Israeli Cabinet set to vote on hostage deal
The Israeli Cabinet is set to meet on Friday to vote on a hostage release and ceasefire deal in Gaza, according to an Israeli official, as reported on by the AFP news agency.
The vote comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his Cabinet had postponed its approval of the ceasefire deal.
The Netanyahu administration accused Hamas of backtracking on certain terms.
Hamas, though, has denied the accusation.
Fragile ceasefire brings mixed emotions
The ceasefire agreement and the fragility surrounding it has brought mixed emotions to the streets among Israelis and Palestinians.
Some Israelis said the situation was simply nerve-racking. Walking along Ben Yehuda Street in West Jerusalem, Zimratiya Hazani told DW correspondent Tania Krämer that it might be best to “avoid the news for a few days” while the situation remains uncertain.
“I think everyone walking around has mixed feelings about it,” she said. “I feel there is not one answer.” She said that she believed Hamas would continue to be a threat. “They might just do October 7 again, no one can guarantee otherwise. But, of course, we want the hostages back, all of them, as soon as possible.”
Hazani was not alone in her assessment. “I think the agreement is a good agreement, if we get all the hostages back and the bodies that were held there,” Uriel Ben Avraham said. “But I think Hamas will rearm and regroup.”
In Gaza, many Palestinians were celebrating the news that a ceasefire could come into effect on Sunday. Others remained cautious as Israeli bombardment continued across Gaza.
Yasmine Al-Naezi was on the streets of Deir al Balah when news of the deal broke. She and her family were displaced from northern Gaza during the war.
“Thank God we are safe, and thank God we will return to our home, my children and I,” the 27-year-old told DW. “I hope the truce lasts forever and ends peacefully so we can return to the north.”
Source : https://www.dw.com/en/gaza-ceasefire-israel-says-hamas-blocking-deal/live-71305180