The agreement between Israel and Hamas regarding the four-day ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Palestinian citizens held in Israeli jails in exchange for the people held hostage by Hamas seems to have been disrupted at the last moment. A senior Israeli official has announced that this agreement will not come into effect before Friday. Its implementation was originally announced on Thursday. The diplomatic breakthrough brings some relief for the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment, as well as relief for families in Israel who were detained during the October 7 Hamas attack. They are fearful for the fate of their loved ones.
Israel’s National Security Advisor Zachi Hanegbi announced the delay in implementing the decision late Wednesday night, but did not give a reason. According to Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari, who played a key role in mediation with Hamas, negotiators are working to create suitable conditions for a ceasefire and exchange of hostages and prisoners. Qatar said Thursday morning that an announcement regarding the timing of the agreement’s entry into force would be made “in a few hours.” America and Egypt have also helped in the agreement.
The health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said it had resumed a detailed count of Palestinians killed in the Israel-Hamas war and recorded more than 13,300 deaths. Health Ministry Director Medhat Abbas confirmed the resumption of the death toll count while speaking to The Associated Press on Thursday. The Health Ministry stopped releasing figures on 11 November after traffic and communications in northern Gaza were disrupted. The latest figures are based on updated data from hospitals in the south and November 11 data from hospitals in the north. The actual death toll may be higher than this.
The Health Ministry said 6,000 other people were missing and feared buried under the debris. The ceasefire agreement has raised hopes of an end to the war which has been going on for seven weeks. The war has caused massive destruction in both Israel and Gaza and a large number of people have been killed. There is a possibility of this war spreading tension throughout West Asia. Sirens sounded Thursday in northern Israel, where Hezbollah said it had fired 48 Katyusha rockets from southern Lebanon. Earlier, five Hezbollah fighters were killed in an Israeli attack, including the son of the head of the group’s parliamentary block. The Israeli army said that it was targeting the sources of the attacks.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while addressing reporters along with two ministers of his special cabinet on the war, said that the war will start again after the ceasefire expires. He said that Israel’s goal is to destroy all military installations of Hamas and to release all 240 of its people held hostage in Gaza. “I want to make it clear that the war continues,” Netanyahu said. Our efforts will continue until all goals are achieved. Netanyahu said that he has given the same information by calling US President Joe Biden. The Prime Minister said he has instructed the country’s intelligence agency Mossad to eliminate the exiled leadership of Hamas “no matter where they are.”
The United States has provided massive military and diplomatic assistance to Israel since the beginning of the war. With the ceasefire coming into effect, both sides will stop where they are. Israeli forces have captured much of northern Gaza and say they have destroyed tunnels and much of Hamas’ infrastructure. The Israeli military showed a group of foreign journalists what appeared to be an underground bunker to prove its claim that there was a Hamas military base beneath Shifa, Gaza’s largest hospital.
Shifa, the largest hospital in the area, has been a major center of struggle. Hamas and hospital staff rejected Israel’s allegations that it was used as a militant command center. The army said on Thursday that it had detained Shifa director Mohammad Abu Selmiya. He will be interrogated in the hospital regarding his alleged involvement in Hamas activities. Gaza’s Health Ministry urged international organizations to intervene, saying it would no longer cooperate with the World Health Organization in evacuating hospitals. Earlier on Thursday, Israel had ordered the complete evacuation of the Indonesian hospital in the north. Dr. Munir Al Boorsh, a Health Ministry official at the hospital, gave this information to Al-Jazeera.
Israeli officials believe that most of Hamas’s infrastructure has not been damaged, and have threatened to launch a wider campaign in southern Gaza. This is the place where people have fled from northern Gaza and have taken refuge and thousands of people are living in shelters run by the United Nations. There is a severe shortage of food, water and basic facilities in these places. The ceasefire is a chance for Hamas to regroup, which has suffered heavy losses in the seven-week war. It is believed that Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar is alive and hiding in Gaza. If the war ends, he can present the release of Palestinian prisoners as a major achievement.
According to the agreement between Israel and Hamas, 50 of the people held hostage by Hamas will be released in several phases and in exchange, 150 Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails will be released. Qatar said that the ceasefire would allow a large amount of humanitarian aid to reach Gaza, including fuel. Netanyahu said the agreement also included a provision for the International Committee of the Red Cross to meet with the hostages.