Israel PM office says ‘deal to release the hostages’ reached

Egypt’s chief diplomat urges Israel and Hamas to enact ceasefire ‘without any delay’

Egypt’s chief diplomat on Thursday called on Israel and Hamas to implement a Gaza ceasefire plan “without any delay,” raising pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the deal.

Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty delivered the message at a sensitive time in efforts to end a devastating 15-month conflict. A day after President Joe Biden and other international mediators announced the ceasefire agreement, Netanyahu insisted there still was no deal.

In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Abdelatty declined to comment on Netanyahu’s claims that Hamas has “reneged” on certain pledges in the agreement. But he said a deal had been reached thanks to “deep involvement” by American, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, including officials from the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

Journalists berate Blinken over Gaza policy at his final press conference

Several journalists who are outspoken critics of US support for Israel loudly lambasted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken over the war in Gaza on Thursday, repeatedly interrupting his final press conference as he sought to defend his handling of the 15-month-old conflict.

Israel’s assault on Gaza is likely to define the foreign policy legacy of the outgoing Biden administration, despite a deal reached with Palestinian militant group Hamas on Wednesday on a ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages.

“Criminal! Why aren’t you in The Hague,” shouted Sam Husseini, an independent journalist and longtime critic of Washington’s approach to the world. The Hague is where the International Criminal Court is located.

The unusually confrontational scene in the State Department briefing room only ended when security personnel forcibly picked up Husseini and carried him out of the room as he continued to heckle Blinken.

Blinken ‘confident’ Gaza ceasefire implementation to start Sunday

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced confidence that the implementation of a ceasefire in Gaza would begin Sunday, as Israel awaited a cabinet vote and accused Hamas of backtracking.

“I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday,” Blinken said at a farewell news conference Thursday.

Blinken said that he and other officials of President Joe Biden’s administration, which ends Monday, were on the telephone to try to resolve issues in the ceasefire announced Wednesday through mediator Qatar.

“It’s not exactly surprising that in a process, in a negotiation, that has been this challenging and this fraught, you may get a loose end. We’re tying up that loose end as we speak,” Blinken said.

Blinken’s opening remarks were disrupted by two activists who regularly show up at press briefings. Both were asked to leave, with one of them shouting slogans as he waited for State Department security to remove him.

Israel far-right minister Ben Gvir says will quit cabinet if Gaza deal approved

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Thursday that he and his party colleagues would quit the cabinet if it approved a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, though they would not leave the country’s ruling coalition.

“If this irresponsible agreement is approved and implemented, the Jewish Power party will not be part of the government and will leave it,” he said at a press conference late Thursday evening, while keeping open the possibility of reversing course if the ceasefire collapsed. 

“If the war against Hamas resumes, with intensity, in order to achieve the objectives of the war that have not been achieved, we will return to the government.”