The China Mail - Israel strikes Gaza and accuses Hamas of backtracking on deal

The truce, announced by mediators Qatar and the United States on Wednesday, would take effect on Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be finalised.

But the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Hamas had "reneged on parts of the agreement reached... in an effort to extort last-minute concessions".

It also said 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".

Hamas political bureau member Sami Abu Zuhri said there was "no basis" for Israel's accusations.

In Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israel pounded several areas of the territory after the deal was announced, killing at least 75 people and wounding hundreds more.

The agreement followed months of fruitless negotiations to end the deadliest war in Gaza's history and, if finalised, would pause hostilities one day before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.

Netanyahu spoke with both US President Joe Biden and Trump on Wednesday, the Israeli leader's office said, thanking them for their help securing the agreement but also cautioning that "final details" were still being worked on.

The war was triggered by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

During the attack, the deadliest in Israeli history, Palestinian militants also took 251 people hostage, 94 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's ensuing campaign has destroyed much of Gaza, killing 46,788 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.

- Mixed feelings -

In Israel and Gaza, there were celebrations welcoming the truce deal, but also anguish.

Saeed Alloush, who lives in north Gaza, said he and his loved ones were "waiting for the truce and were happy", until overnight strikes killed his relatives.

"It was the happiest night since October 7" until "we received the news of the martyrdom of 40 people from the Alloush family", he said.

In Tel Aviv, pensioner Simon Patya said he felt "great joy" that some hostages would return alive, but also "great sorrow for those who are returning in bags, and that will be a very strong blow, morally".

Two far-right party leaders in Netanyahu's cabinet have publicly opposed the agreement.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said it was a "dangerous deal", while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called it "disastrous".

Israeli media said the government's ratification of the agreement may be delayed, in part, by disagreements within the ruling coalition.

The deal followed intensified efforts from mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani announced on Wednesday that the "two belligerents in the Gaza Strip have reached a deal".

"We hope that all parties will commit to implementing all the terms of this agreement," he said, adding that the three mediators would monitor its implementation.

During an initial 42-day ceasefire, 33 hostages would be released, the Qatari prime minister said, including women, "children, elderly people, as well as civilian ill people and wounded".

Also in the first phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza's densely populated areas and allow displaced Palestinians to return "to their residences", he said.

- Aid needed -

Announcing the deal from the White House, Biden said he was "deeply satisfied this day has come", calling the negotiations some of the "toughest" of his career.

Envoys from both Trump's incoming administration and Biden's outgoing one had been present at the latest negotiations, with a senior Biden official saying the unlikely pairing had been a decisive factor in reaching the deal.

Trump on social media hailed the "EPIC ceasefire agreement".

Biden said the deal would "surge much needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families".

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also underscored the "importance of accelerating the entry of urgent humanitarian aid" into Gaza.

Egypt's state-linked Al-Qahera News cited a security source as saying coordination was "underway" to reopen the Rafah crossing on Gaza's border with Egypt to allow in aid.

The UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, facing an Israeli ban on its activities set to take effect later this month, welcomed the ceasefire deal.

"What's needed is rapid, unhindered and uninterrupted humanitarian access and supplies to respond to the tremendous suffering caused by this war," UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X.

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