Israel delays cabinet vote on Gaza deal

Dampening the global excitement following the declaration of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, Israel Thursday morning decided to delay a cabinet vote on the truce to take effect on Sunday. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office blamed Palestinian militant organisation Hamas for reneging parts of the agreement reached in Doha on Wednesday, for Tel Aviv's decision.

"Hamas reneges on parts of the agreement reached with the mediators and Israel in an effort to extort last minute concessions," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Office said. "The Israeli cabinet will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement."

Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas' political bureau, said in a statement on social media a little later that Hamas "is committed to the ceasefire agreement that was announced by the mediators."

The Israeli cabinet was expected to meet Thursday to vote on the ceasefire and hostage release deal that was agreed between Hamas and Israel in Qatar's capital Doha on Wednesday. The highly anticipated agreement is expected to halt attacks by Israel that have killed close to 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza. The Israeli offensive followed a Hamas attack into Israel on October 7, 2023, when the group's militants killed over 1200 and took some 250 people hostages.