Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a conference call with the negotiating team in Doha, who reported on last-minute attempts by Hamas to back out of the hostage agreement, the Prime Minister’s Office announced in a statement on Thursday.
“Contrary to an explicit clause that gives Israel veto power over the release of mass murderers who are symbols of terror, Hamas demands to dictate the identity of these terrorists,” the statement said.
“The Prime Minister instructed the negotiating team to stand firm on the agreed understandings and to outright reject Hamas’s last-minute extortion attempts.”
Earlier in the evening, the Prime Minister’s Office indicated that some unresolved issues remain in the framework but expressed hope that these would be finalized overnight. The Security Cabinet is scheduled to meet at 11 a.m. to give final approval to the agreement.
The first phase of the deal will last 42 days, and implementation of the agreement will begin two or three days after its signing.
IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip. January 11, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
Partial IDF withdrawal
The IDF will withdraw from the Netzarim corridor and all populated areas of the enclave to about 700 meters from the border, except in five specified areas, where it will be 400 meters.
The IDF will reportedly reduce its presence on the Philadelphi corridor and then withdraw from it completely over the course of the first 50 days.
