Hamas threatened to torpedo the long-awaited cease-fire-for-hostage deal at the 11th hour Saturday, having failed by nightfall to provide the names of captives it planned to release the next day as the two sides had agreed.
The snag came despite the terror group agreeing to release the names as a condition of the three-stage accord, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who stressed Hamas is “solely responsible” if the agreement implodes.
“We will be unable to move forward with the framework until we receive the list of the hostages who will be released, as was agreed,” Netanyahu.
“Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement,” he declared.
As of 8:30 a.m., Israel time, it was unclear where the deal stood.
Hamas had claimed that the failure to turn over the names was due to “technical reasons,” the Times of Israel said. A source told the paper that the lag was because Hamas talks to each other “physically via emissaries and it takes time to agree on the names and the location of the hostages when IDF planes are still above them.” They are also waiting for their leader Muhammad Sinwar to sign off.
Bruce Hoffman, an expert with the US Council on Foreign Relations, told The Post the hitch could ultimately derail the fragile accord. “One has to ask if Hamas isn’t deliberately sabotaging the deal,” he said.
“This is what they agreed to. It seemed the most basic of all the demands by the Israelis.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders approved the cease-fire deal early Saturday morning. APAlso on Saturday
- The IDF said it was prepared for the cease-fire deal with Hamas, but it was also ready to return to fight “immediately” at any time if the truce collapsed.
- Netanyahu said in a 10-minute video address that Israel had the support of Trump and outgoing President Biden to resume fighting in Gaza if the two sides couldn’t hammer out their sticking points. “If we do have to resume fighting, we will do so in new ways and with very great power,” he thundered.
- The deal has also drawn resistance from members of the Israeli far-right, Otzma Yehudit Jewish Power party who have announced their intentions to resign over the “reckless agreement.”
- The party argued that the deal would be a “forfeiture” of the Israeli military’s achievements in the war and would unjustly release Palestinian prisoners with “the blood of men, women, and children on their hands,” they said in a statement Saturday.
- Ahead of the looming deal, senior members of President Joe Biden’s administration and Donald Trump’s incoming national security team met Saturday with families of the Americans believed to be held hostage by Hamas, a source told CNN.
- National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who met with families in Washington, stressed that the Trump administration is committed to implementing all the phases of the Gaza hostage and cease-fire deal.
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had also spoken to the families separately on Friday, the outlet said.
- Seven Americans are believed to be held hostage by Hamas, with three presumed to still be alive. The remains of the four deceased hostages are believed to still be held in Gaza.
The deal is slated to begin 8:30 a.m. local time Sunday, or 1:30 a.m. ET, Qatari officials announced earlier Saturday. The hostage exchange was expected at 4 p.m. local time.
One roadblock was dodged as Israel’s High Court for Justice rejected petitions against the cease-fire, the Times of Israel reported. The petition wanted to block the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The Israeli military confirmed the start time and said earlier in the day its troops were ready to “implement the operational procedures in the field in accordance with the set agreements.”
The cease-fire plan, which would see Israeli hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners as well as a pause in fighting in the 15-month war, was approved by Israel’s Cabinet early Saturday morning, following hours of intense deliberations. The deal was then inked by Israel’s national security advisor.
The first phase of the three-stage deal, which would encompass a six-week pause in fighting, would see 33 Israeli hostages exchanged for the release of nearly 1,900 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli captives who are set to be released during the first phase, alive or dead, include women, children and men over 50.
‘Recovery for all’
According to the deal Israeli leaders greenlit Saturday, the first exchange would see three female hostages released, followed by another four captives released a week later and the remaining 26 freed over a five-week period.
Israel continued to bombard Gaza Saturday, while the Jewish state fended off missile attacks from Yemen. REUTERSDuring each swap, Israel will release Palestinian prisoners after the hostages arrive home safe.
Also during the first phase, Israeli troops will pull back to a buffer zone in Gaza near the border with the Jewish state, while trucks carrying much-needed humanitarian aid including food and medical supplies are to flood the decimated territory.
In Tel Aviv, thousands rallied for their weekly protests at Hostages Square demanding the release of the remaining captives hours before the first stage of the cease-fire deal is scheduled to go into effect.
Amit Soussana, a former hostage who was among the handful freed during the weeklong truce in November 2023, said Israel needed to ensure none of the hostages were left behind.
“Today we are finally beginning to see the light, but true victory, and a recovery for all of us can start only once the last of the hostages comes back home,” she said, according to The Times of Israel.
The cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas is set to go into effect at 8:30 a.m. local time Sunday, Qatari officials said. REUTERSAt a rally outside Netanyahu’s Jerusalem home, Sharon Sharabi, the brother of one of the hostages expected to be released under the first phase of the cease-fire deal, defended the deal.
“The State of Israel is paying heavy prices in order to return the hostages home,“ he said, according to TOI.
“But the price of the hostages remaining in Hamas captivity is the highest price that the State of Israel could pay in all its history.”
Hamas sparked the bloody war after launching a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, with the terror group and its allies killing 1,200 people and taking another 250 captive. An estimated 97 hostages remain, with an estimated 60 believed to be alive.
Israel responded to the deadliest attack in the nation’s history with a ground offensive in Gaza, bombarding the enclave and killing over 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilian and military deaths.
With Post wires
