This morning the Israeli Prime Minister’s office Benjamin Netanyahu reported that Hamas is trying to backtrack after negotiators announced on Wednesday evening that a ceasefire agreement had been reached. In an official statement, the Prime Minister’s office detailed the issues on which Hamas is trying to backtrack back: «Among other things, in contradiction to the explicit section that gives Israel the right to veto the release of mass murderers who are a symbol of terror, Hamas asks to decide the identity of these terrorists.” The statement comes just hours after Qatar and the United States officially announced they had reached an agreement. Earlier today the Israeli Prime Minister’s office reported: «Hamas reneged on parts of the agreement reached with mediators and Israel in an attempt to extract last-minute concessions. The Israeli government will not meet until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement.” The Hostages and Missing Persons Directorate of the Prime Minister’s Office, led by Yaron Coheninformed the families of the hostages that in the last few hours Hamas has added demands that contradict the agreement reached with the negotiators. «At the moment, the details of the agreement have not yet been defined and the negotiating team continues to work to find a solution. Therefore, there is no official notification of success in the negotiations and Cabinet meeting yet,” the Directorate said in a statement.
Izzat el-Risheq, senior leader of the jihadist movement denied al Times of Israel the accusations according to which the group had disregarded some points of the agreement on the hostages: “Hamas is not taking steps backwards from the agreements reached for a truce in Gaza”. The Israeli Diplomatic and Security Cabinet will meet this afternoon with defense leaders, including the leaders of the ISA and Mossad, to discuss the agreement with Hamas. Subsequently, the government will hold a vote on the agreement, which promises to be tense due to strong opposition from numerous ministers, as well as from the Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties, which threaten to bring down the governing coalition. After approval of the agreement, the Ministry of Justice will publish the list of prisoners to be released, allowing any appeals to the Supreme Court. The agreement provides for a six-week period during which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will progressively withdraw from the central part of the Gaza Strip, allowing the population to return to their homes located in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.