White House Officials Confident Gaza Cease-Fire Will Start Sunday Despite ‘Last-Minute’ Issues
The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas hit a potential snag on Thursday less than a day after it was announced, but U.S. officials remain confident it will still go into effect starting Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a “last-minute crisis” with Hamas is preventing his cabinet from fully approving the deal, despite President Joe Biden and Qatari officials saying it was already done. Hamas denies causing any new problems regarding the agreement, according to The New York Times.
“We’re gonna get there, Craig [Melvin],” The White House’s National Security Communications advisor Ret. Adm. John Kirby told “Today” on Thursday. “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.”
“Obviously, this has got to get approved by the Israeli government and Prime Minister Netanyahu knows that. He’s working through that process as well,” he added. “But we’re confident that we’ll be able to solve these last-minute issues and get it moving and that this cease-fire can take place, starting on Sunday”
Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq further insisted the militant group remains “committed to the cease-fire agreement, which was announced by the mediators,” according to The AP.
Additionally, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza says 81 people have been killed in airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours. By their numbers, 46,788 people have been killed in the last 468 days (the ministry does not distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties). Israel disputes that number, claiming they have killed 17,000 fighters.
Once finally approved, the 42-day cease-fire will see Israel release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for the remaining hostages taken from the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack. Hamas still has 94 hostages held captive, though as many as 34 of them could already be dead, after 157 were returned after a late 2024 deal was reached.
The current iteration of the Israel-Hamas War started following the deadly attacks on Oct. 7, in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage. However, conflicts between Israel and Palestine on the Gaza Strip date back at least 70 years.
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