U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday he is confident that a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal agreed to by Israel and Hamas will start as scheduled on Sunday to end 15 months of fighting despite a last-minute dispute between the warring parties.
"I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday," Blinken told reporters in Washington at his farewell news conference as America's top diplomat.
Two developments Thursday appeared to threaten the start of the ceasefire and the initial release of hostages.
First, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the militants of backtracking on parts of the agreement.
A statement from Netanyahu's office said Hamas was trying to "extort last-minute concessions." Netanyahu's office accused Hamas of backtracking on an understanding that he said would give Israel a veto over which Palestinian prisoners convicted of murder would be released in exchange for hostages held by the U.S.-designated terror group.
A short time later, Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, said the militant group "is committed to the ceasefire agreement, which was announced by the mediators."
Second, Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would resign from Netanyahu's government if it ratified the ceasefire deal. In a televised statement, he said the deal was "reckless" and would "erase the achievements of the war."
Netanyahu said his Cabinet would not meet to give necessary approval to the agreement until the militant group accepts all the elements. One Israeli official said the vote was likely to occur on Friday.
"It's not exactly surprising that in a process and negotiation that has been this challenging and this fraught, you may get a loose end," Blinken said. "We're tying up that loose end as we speak."
Even with the prospective ceasefire days away, Palestinian medics said Israeli forces carried out multiple airstrikes Thursday in Gaza, killing at least 77 people.
If the ceasefire takes hold, U.N. agencies said they were ready to surge humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, where the United Nations says at least 1.9 million of the 2.3 million people living there have been displaced and 92% of housing units have been destroyed.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog offered his strong support for the ceasefire after the deal was announced Wednesday.
"As the president of the State of Israel, I say in the clearest terms: This is the right move," he said. "This is an important move. This is a necessary move. There is no greater moral, human, Jewish, or Israeli obligation than to bring our sons and daughters back to us — whether to recover at home, or to be laid to rest."
The first phase of the agreement includes a 42-day ceasefire, the release of 33 hostages from Gaza, the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israel, a phased Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza and an increased flow of aid for Palestinian civilians.
During the first phase, there will be negotiations on the details of a second phase focused on bringing a permanent end to the conflict with the release of the remaining hostages and a full Israeli troop withdrawal.
A final phase concerns rebuilding Gaza, with a new governing and security structure.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas sent its fighters into Israel in an October 7, 2023, terror attack that killed more than 1,200 people and led to the abduction of about 250 hostages. Of those hostages, just under 100 are thought to remain in Hamas custody but about one-third are believed to be dead.
Gaza authorities say nearly 47,000 Palestinians – most of them children and women – have been killed in Israeli military operations. Israel, without providing evidence, says the death toll includes 17,000 militants it has killed.
In a statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which includes the families of 98 hostages, said Wednesday it welcomes "with overwhelming joy and relief the agreement to bring our loved ones home.
"However, deep anxiety and concerns accompany us regarding the possibility that the agreement might not be fully implemented, leaving hostages behind," the statement continued. "We urgently call for swift arrangements to ensure all phases of the deal are carried out."
A senior official with the outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters that two of the living American hostages – Keith Siegel and Sagui Dekel-Chen – will be among the first hostages released. The official spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity, as is customary in such briefings.
Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
