Netanyahu says Gaza ceasefire won’t start until Hamas gives captives’ list
His office said in a statement on Sunday that the prime minister had told the IDF that the ceasefire wouldn’t start until Israel had the list of abducted people that Hamas had promised to provide.
Hamas stated in a statement shortly after that statement that it was committed to the ceasefire agreement that was announced last week and blamed the delay on “technical field reasons.”
The Israeli military’s top spokesman, Daniel Hagari, reiterated the statement made by Netanyahu’s office, saying the ceasefire wouldn’t be effective until Hamas gave the names of the three hostages, which were scheduled to be made public on Sunday.
Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker, reporting from Amman, the Jordanian capital, said there was “so much international pressure” on both Hamas and Israel, it would be “very difficult” to see how the ceasefire, particularly the first phase, does not go ahead.
“Are there potential delays at this point in time?” I’m pretty sure Qatar will be putting incredible pressure on Hamas, if indeed these names haven’t yet been handed over, to do so”, she said.
Hamas has, however, reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire, and it will then turn these names over as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reporting from central Gaza, said the communication methods of Hamas and its elements communicate on the ground were not “conventional”.
Nobody picks up the phone, making up their minds, or finding a person, wherever they are. With fighter jets and drones flying over the Gaza Strip, movements become extremely difficult and time-sensitive, he added.
It’s not moving freely, Hamas says, and it will take time to get the list, according to Hamas’ technical reasons.
Netanyahu’s warning came shortly after his speech, in which he claimed that if the second stage of the ceasefire fails, Israel would still have the support of the United States to resume its occupation of Gaza.
33 Palestinian prisoners should be returned from Gaza in the 42-day first phase of the ceasefire, and Israel should release hundreds more.
Many Palestinians who have been displaced should be able to go home, and Israeli forces should retreat into a buffer zone inside Gaza. Humanitarian aid should be spitting up in the devastated area as well.
The proposed longer and more significant halt to the conflict than the weeklong pause more than a year ago has the potential to bring the fighting to an end.
In about two weeks, negotiations should start on the much more challenging second phase of this ceasefire. Important issues remain, including whether the conflict will resume following the first six-week operation and how the remaining nearly 100 prisoners will be released.
More than two days after mediators made the announcement, Israel’s cabinet approved the ceasefire on Saturday in a special session of the Jewish Sabbath.
Source: Aljazeera
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