Israel accuses Hamas of reneging on parts of ceasefire-hostage agreement, delays vote

Hamas has reneged on parts of the agreement... and Israel in an effort to extort last-minute concessions”.

Mr Netanyahu, who is no stranger to posturing when it comes to a Gaza, claimed in a morning statement issued by the Israeli prime minister's office

It's not exactly surprising that in a process and negotiation that has been this challenging and this fraught, you may get a loose end,

Mr Blinken said

On the ceasefire, I am confident... I fully expect that implementation will begin … on Sunday.”

America’s top diplomat, secretary of state Antony Blinken said at a briefing on Thursday evening

One of the final pieces in the arrangement, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his key team basically have to run this through their government and get the votes for this deal,

Waltz said

We’re still optimistic. Everybody wants this deal to happen,

he added

There is no basis to Netanyahu's claims about the movement backtracking from terms in the ceasefire agreement,

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP

Hamas is committed to the ceasefire agreement, which was announced by the mediators.

Hamas political bureau member Izzat al-Rishq said separately in a statement

We were expecting that the occupation would intensify the bombing, like they did every time there were reports on progress in the truce (negotiations),

said Mohammed Mahdi, who fled his home a few months ago and is sheltering in Gaza City

We have lost grandchildren, fathers, brothers, cousins, neighbours, and our homes" in the war

he said

We hope that all parties will commit to implementing all the terms of this agreement,

he said,

We all worry about the next 72 hours,

one man living in a tent, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told The Independent

It’s very troubling – we’ve all learned to trust no one,

he told The Independent

This deal will halt the fighting in Gaza, surge much-needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians, and reunite the hostages with their families after more than 15 months in captivity.”

US President Joe Biden said in Washington

We also sincerely hope that relevant parties will take the ceasefire in Gaza as an opportunity to promote the easing of regional tensions,

Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press briefing

It is clearly evident that if Israel pulls out of Gaza, Hamas would remain in charge,

Perry said

There is only one thing before my eyes, and that is the fulfilment of all the goals of the war.”

After the meeting, Smotrich released a video, saying