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Israel Said to Clear Final Obstacles to Gaza Ceasefire Deal as Hostage Families Remain in Turmoil

Orthodox Jewish men stand near a tank, ahead of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, as seen from the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, Jan. 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen

The last obstacles to a Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal had been ironed out, and Israel’s security cabinet was set to approve it on Friday, Israeli officials said on Thursday evening.

The news came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed the agreement earlier in the day, accusing the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas of reneging on previously agreed-upon terms.

A US source, cited by Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, also confirmed that the differences had been resolved. Meanwhile, a senior US official vowed the deal would proceed by Sunday — a day ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Although Qatari and American mediators announced on Wednesday that the deal had been finalized, Israeli officials refused to issue a confirmation, and on Thursday said last-minute obstacles had emerged.

The sticking points center on the list of Palestinian prisoners who have been detained in Israel largely for involvement in terrorist activities to be released in exchange for the hostages who remain in captivity in Gaza after being kidnapped during Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Hamas had attempted to overturn a key clause in the agreement that grants Israel veto power over the release of high-profile inmates who are considered “symbols of terrorism,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said. Israel has also accused Hamas of “demanding to dictate the identity of these murderers,” in direct contradiction to the previously agreed-upon terms.

According to Israeli Channel 12 journalist Chaim Levinson, Hamas is insisting on the release of Hassan Salameh, the mastermind of the Bus 18 suicide bombings in Jerusalem in the 1990s, in which 46 Israelis were killed.

Additional disagreements reportedly involve logistical issues, such as control over the Philadelphia Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border.

The strategic border strip has been a significant point of contention in the ceasefire and hostage-release discussions. Israel has insisted on maintaining a military presence in the corridor to prevent arms smuggling into Gaza, citing several dozen tunnels unearthed there. Officials on Thursday denied that Israel had agreed to withdraw its forces from it as part of the deal.

But Aryeh Deri — a member of Israel’s parliament, known as the Knesset, where he serves as the head of the Shas party that is part of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition — said on Thursday that he had received a “final announcement that all obstacles have been overcome and the deal is underway.”

“I want to congratulate Prime Minister Netanyahu — as he is responsible for the agreement,” he told his party.

Despite the lingering challenges earlier in the day, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby expressed confidence that the deal would proceed on Sunday.

“We’re aware of these issues that the prime minister has raised today, this afternoon, their time, and we’re working through that. Our team on the ground is actually working with him and his team to iron all this out and flatten it and get it moving forward,” Kirby told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

For families of the hostages, the delay has exacerbated an already unbearable wait.

“These truly are probably the most stressful days we’ve experienced in over a year since the last deal,” said Udi Goren, whose cousin Tal Haimi’s body remains in Hamas custody. Haimi was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, along with more than 1,200 others when Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists invaded southern Israel. His body was taken to Gaza. His wife, Ella Haimi, gave birth to the couple’s fourth child in May.

“For us, we have seen so many disappointments over these past 15 months. You know, if this saying were ever true — ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’”

Emotions have run high, especially among bereaved families whose loved ones were killed by terrorists, many of whom oppose the deal, fearing it will lead to further terrorism down the line. Protests by those opposing the deal took place on Wednesday and Thursday evening in Jerusalem.

Israel Hayom journalist Ariel Kahana sharply criticized the role of Trump in pressuring Israel to finalize the emerging hostage deal, arguing it was pushed through prematurely. According to Kahana, senior Israeli officials believe Trump’s insistence on securing the agreement before his inauguration forced Netanyahu into accepting unfavorable terms. Describing it as “a bad deal, struck at the wrong time and under poor conditions,” Kahane claimed that waiting just a few more days could have allowed Israel to negotiate significantly better conditions.

“The deal, which is expected to take effect any moment now, will rehabilitate Hamas,” he argued. “The organization, which has suffered severe blows, will gain at least 1,000 new operatives directly from Israeli prisons. This influx of ‘new blood,’ quite literally, will undoubtedly lead to more bloodshed both within and outside Israel.”

“Why is the author of The Art of the Deal pushing Israel into a deal with the devil?” the journalist added, using the title of Trump’s popular 1987 book.

Goren called the agreement a “really bad deal.”

Nevertheless, he said it was a moral imperative to release the hostages now because that was the most pressing issue. “This is the consequence of Oct 7. I don’t want to say this is too high a price. This is the reality. The hostages will never, never come back by military force,” he said.

“Do I like it? No. They are insane jihadist terrorists,” Goren added.

Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists abducted 251 hostages during their rampage across Israel, which responded to the invasion with a military campaign aimed at freeing the captives and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.

More than 100 hostages were released as part of a temporary truce in November 2023, and others have been freed — both dead and alive — by Israeli rescue operations. Some 98 hostages are still in captivity, and at least a third of them are believed to be dead.

Addressing the families of terror victims opposed to the agreement, Goren acknowledged their concerns. “We’ve seen terrorists go back to terror. But does Israel have the ability and also the responsibility to track them after their release? Absolutely.”

He also addressed the families of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers killed in the war who claim that their loved ones’ deaths were in vain if it would lead to the release of terrorists. Arguing that their sacrifice strengthened Israel’s negotiating position, Goren said, “The achievements in Gaza have allowed us to negotiate from a position of strength, ensuring Hamas no longer poses an existential threat to Israel.”

The post Israel Said to Clear Final Obstacles to Gaza Ceasefire Deal as Hostage Families Remain in Turmoil first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.

Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.

“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”

GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’

Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.

“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.

“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.

“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.

After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”

RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL

Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”

Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.

“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”

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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.

People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.

“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”

Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.

On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.

Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.

On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.

“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.

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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.

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