Ceasefire Deal Delayed as Hamas Fails to Honor Terms, Netanyahu Says
Update: As of January 17, 2025 11:40am - Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire Deal appears to be back on track. According to Fox News, hostages release could begin as early as Sunday afternoon as phase one of the deal is initiated. More information to come.
A cease-fire agreement between Hamas and Israel has been postponed due to last-revisions by Hamas. According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamas reportedly made new demands as to which prisoners would be exchanged for the hostages being held in Gazam, CBN News reported. In response, the Israeli Cabinet has delayed convening until Hamas accepts "elements of the agreement."
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Government spokesman David Mencer said families of the hostages were informed that Hamas "added further demands that contradict the agreement with the mediators."
"As of this time, the details of the agreement have not yet been finalized, and the negotiation team is continuing its efforts to reach a solution," said Mencer in his remarks. "The Israeli negotiating team is still in Doha as befits Israel's willingness to finalize the hostage release agreement."
"To be clear, the government wants to finalize an agreement, and we hope that the details will be finalized. If this agreement to release our hostages is finalized, it will demonstrate Israel's strength, Israel's humanity, and Israel's unwavering commitment to its citizens," he added.
Israel and Hamas initially reached a cease-fire agreement on Wednesday, which would have seen the release of 33 hostages in exchange for around 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including terrorists serving life sentences for killing Israelis.
The deal was to take effect in three stages, with the first three hostages, two of them Americans, being released this Sunday. Stage one was expected to last 6 weeks, with negotiations for stage two taking place 16 days later. The negotiations would have further secured the release of the hostages and, ultimately, bring an end to the war.
The agreement has been met with a polarized reception, including Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism Party signaling it would withdraw from Netanyahu's coalition.
Meanwhile, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar noted that the difficult decision of releasing terrorist prisoners could prevent Hamas from doing further harm to hostages.
"But if we will postpone the decision, we don't know how many of them will survive. So, we have to take a very tough decision, and painful."
Related Article: Israel and Hamas Agree to Cease-Fire Deal, Hostages Are Expected to Be Released
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Alexi J. Rosenfeld / Stringer
Originally published January 17, 2025.
