1) (Updated) Mediators herald Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal. Israel says final details are in flux

Courtesy Barrie360.com The Associated Press

By Najib Jobain, Samy Magdy And Josef Federman, January 15, 2025

Israel and Hamas have agreed to pause the devastating war in the Gaza Strip, mediators announced Wednesday, raising the possibility of winding down the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies.

The three-phase ceasefire deal promises the release of dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and it will allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes. It would also flood desperately needed humanitarian aid into a territory ravaged by 15 months of war, mediators say.

The prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said the ceasefire would go into effect on Sunday and that its success would depend on Israel and Hamas “acting in good faith in order to ensure that this agreement does not collapse.” He spoke in the Qatari capital of Doha, the site of weeks of painstaking negotiations.

U.S. President Joe Biden touted the deal from Washington, saying the ceasefire will stay in place as long as Israel and Hamas remain at the negotiating table over a long-term truce. Biden credited months of “dogged and painstaking American diplomacy” for landing the deal, noting that his administration and President-elect Donald Trump’s team had been “speaking as one” in the latest negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Wednesday that the ceasefire agreement with Hamas is still not complete and final details are being worked out.

An Israeli official familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity said those details center on confirming the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed. Any agreement must be approved by Netanyahu’s Cabinet.

Netanyahu thanked Trump and Biden for “advancing” the ceasefire agreement, but did not explicitly say whether he has accepted it, saying he would issue a formal response only “after the final details of the agreement, which are currently being worked on, are completed.”

His measured reaction may reflect domestic politics. Netanyahu’s governing coalition depends on the support of two hardline factions whose leaders have threatened to leave the government over the planned release of Palestinian prisoners. Although opposition leaders have vowed to support the ceasefire deal, the loss of his hardline allies could lead to the collapse of the coalition and trigger early elections.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog called on Netanyahu’s government to approve the ceasefire in a nationally televised speech. Hamas said in a statement that the ceasefire was “the result of the legendary resilience of our great Palestinian people and our valiant resistance in the Gaza Strip.”

Once the first phase of the deal takes effect, it is expected to deliver an initial six-week halt to fighting along with the opening of negotiations on ending the war altogether.

Over those six weeks, 33 of the nearly 100 hostages are to be reunited with their loved ones after months in captivity with no contact with the outside world, though it’s unclear if all are alive.

It remained unclear exactly when and how many displaced Palestinians would be able to return to their homes and whether the agreement would lead to a complete end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza — key Hamas demands for releasing the remaining captives.

Many longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction after a brutal conflict that has destabilized the broader Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.

Hamas triggered the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack, which killed some 1,200 in Israel and took 250 others hostage. Israel responded with a fierce offensive that has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.

More than 100 hostages were freed from Gaza in a weeklong truce in November 2023.

The U.S., along with Egypt and Qatar, have brokered months of indirect talks between the bitter enemies that finally culminated in this latest deal. It comes after Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in November, after more than a year of conflict linked to the war in the Gaza.

U.N. and international relief organizations estimate that some 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, often multiple times. They say tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed and hospitals are barely functioning. Experts have warned that famine may be underway in northern Gaza.

Abed Radwan, a Palestinian father of three, called the ceasefire deal “the best day in my life and the life of the Gaza people … Thank God. Thank God.”

Radwan, who has been displaced from the town of Beit Lahiya for over a year and shelters in Gaza City, said he hopes to return and to rebuild his home. As he spoke to AP by phone, his voice was overshadowed by the celebrations of fellow Gazans.

“People are crying here. They don’t believe it’s true,” he said.

In Israel, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv, calling for a deal to be completed. Many held posters of hostages held by Hamas, others hoisted candles in the air.

As the deal was announced, some people were unaware that it had gone through. Sharone Lifschitz, whose father Oded is being held in Gaza, told the AP by phone she was stunned and grateful but won’t believe it until she sees all the hostages come home.

“I’m so desperate to see them if by some miracle my father has survived,” she said.

The Hostage Families Forum, which has long pressed Israeli leaders to make a deal that would bring the captives home, said it welcomed Wednesday’s announcement with joy and relief.

“After 460 days of our family members being held in Hamas tunnels, we are closer than ever to reuniting with our loved ones,” the group said in a statement.

Biden, who has provided crucial military aid to Israel but expressed exasperation over civilian deaths in Gaza, announced the outline of the three-phase ceasefire agreement on May 31. The agreement eventually agreed to followed that framework.

He said the first phase would last for six weeks and include a “full and complete ceasefire,” a withdrawal of Israeli forces from densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages, including women, older adults and wounded people, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Humanitarian assistance would surge, with hundreds of trucks entering Gaza each day.

The second and most difficult phase would include the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza. The third phase calls for the start of a major reconstruction of Gaza, which faces decades of rebuilding from devastation caused by the war.

Hamas had been demanding assurances for a permanent end to the war and complete withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza. Israel, meanwhile, has repeatedly said it would not halt the war until it destroys Hamas’ military and governing capabilities.

With Biden’s days in office numbered and President-elect Donald Trump set to take over, both sides had been under heavy pressure to agree to a deal.

Trump celebrated the agreement in a posting on his Truth Social social media platform: “WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!”

Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said Biden deserves praise for continuing to push the talks. But Trump’s threats to Hamas and his efforts to “cajole” Netanyahu deserve credit as well.

“The ironic reality is that at a time of heightened partisanship even over foreign policy, the deal represents how much more powerful and influential U.S. foreign policy can be when it’s bipartisan,” Panikoff said.

Hezbollah’s acceptance of a ceasefire in Lebanon after it had suffered heavy blows, and the overthrow of President Bashar Assad in Syria, were both major setbacks for Iran and its allies across the region, including Hamas, which was left increasingly isolated.

Israel has come under heavy international criticism, including from its closest ally, the United States, over the civilian toll. Israel says it has killed around 17,000 militants — though it has not provided evidence to support the claim. It also blames Hamas for the civilian casualties, accusing the group of using schools, hospitals and residential areas for military purposes.

The International Court of Justice is investigating allegations brought by South Africa that Israel has committed genocide. The International Criminal Court, a separate body also based in The Hague, has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas commander for war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the war.

Israel and the United States have condemned the actions taken by both courts.

Netanyahu also faced great domestic pressure to bring home the hostages, whose plight has captured the nation’s attention. Their families have become a powerful lobbying group with wide public support backed by months of mass protests urging the government to reach a deal with Hamas.

Israeli authorities have already concluded that more than a third of the roughly 100 remaining people held captive are dead, and there are fears that others are no longer alive. A series of videos released by Hamas showing surviving hostages in distress, combined with news that a growing number of abducted Israelis have died, put added pressure on the Israeli leader.

Hamas, a militant group that does not accept Israel’s existence, has come under overwhelming pressure from Israeli military operations, including the invasion of Gaza’s largest cities and towns and the takeover of the border between Gaza and Egypt. Its top leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, who was believed to have helped mastermind the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, have been killed.

But its fighters have regrouped in some of the hardest-hit areas after the withdrawal of Israeli forces, raising the prospect of a prolonged insurgency if the war continues.

Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas’s military and governing capabilities are destroyed. But it has never been clear what that would entail or if it’s even possible, given the group’s deep roots in Palestinian society, its presence in Lebanon and the occupied West Bank, and its exiled leadership.

Both sides still face many difficult and unanswered questions.

As the war winds down, Netanyahu will face growing calls for postwar investigations that could find him at least partially responsible for the security failures of Oct. 7 — the worst in Israel’s history. His far-right governing partners, who opposed a ceasefire deal, could also bring down the coalition and push the country into early elections.

There is still no plan for who will govern Gaza after the war. Israel has said it will work with local Palestinians not affiliated with Hamas or the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. But it is unclear if such partners exist, and Hamas has threatened anyone who cooperates with Israeli forces.

The United States has tried to advance sweeping postwar plans for a reformed Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza with Arab and international assistance. As part of those plans, the U.S. hope Saudi Arabia would normalize relations with Israel in return for U.S. security guarantees and aid in setting up a civilian nuclear program.

But those plans depend on credible progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state, something Netanyahu and much of Israel’s political class oppose. Netanyahu has said Israel will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza as well as the occupied West Bank, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war that the Palestinians want for their future state.

In the absence of a postwar arrangement with Palestinian support, Hamas is likely to remain a significant force in Gaza and could reconstitute its military capabilities if Israeli forces fully withdraw.

Federman reported from Jerusalem. Magdy reported from Cairo. Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

2) Israel-Hamas ceasefire welcomed but protests in Canada will not stop, groups say

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Sharif Hassan, Jan. 15, 2025

Pro-Palestinian groups in Canada say a newly negotiated ceasefire deal to pause the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip will not end their regular demonstrations in cities like Toronto, while a national Jewish advocacy group says it “will not rest” until every hostage held by Hamas is released.

While a ceasefire in the 15-month war is welcome news, “there will be no pauses, no breaks, no rests” in protests that have endured for more than a year, said Gur Tsabar, a spokesperson for the Jews Say No to Genocide coalition.

“We’re all praying that this deal comes through for the sake of the people on the ground in Gaza who have been suffering one of the most horrific and brutal atrocities,” Tsabar said Wednesday.

Yara Shoufani, a Palestinian in Toronto who is a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement, said the goal of the group’s protests moving forward will be to pressure the Canadian government to impose a two-way arms embargo and hold the perpetrators of atrocities in Gaza accountable. 

“I think it’s really important to note that this ceasefire does not mean the end of oppression of the Palestinian people,” she said.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said its main focus is the return of hostages taken by Hamas, despite the “painful concessions that Israel has been willing to make” in the ceasefire deal. 

“Canada’s Jewish community will not rest until every hostage taken on Oct. 7 is returned home to their loved ones,” the organization’s interim president, Noah Shack, wrote in a statement. 

Mediators said Wednesday that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a three-phase deal, which promises the release of dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. The ceasefire would allow hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes and pave the way for the flow of much-needed humanitarian aid in the territory. However, Israel said final details are still being ironed out.

Israel declared war on Hamas after the militant group staged a brutal attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and kidnapped scores of hostages. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in the subsequent bombardment, while Israel says 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s initial attack. Both numbers include combatants.

The United Nations estimates 70 per cent of the people who died in Gaza are women and children. 

Tsabar, who has taken part in many protests, said the ceasefire will help stop deaths in Gaza, but “absolutely nothing changes for the rest of us (protesters).”

He said his group will continue demonstrations until “Palestine is free.”

The Palestinian Youth Movement has been taking to the streets of Canadian cities, calling on the federal government to help end the conflict. 

“We feel a sense of relief at the news of a ceasefire. We know that there are people inside (Gaza) right now who are erupting with joy at this news,” Shoufani said. “But we also know that this ceasefire is coming 15 months too late.”

But Maureen Leshem, a Toronto resident whose cousin was taken hostage by Hamas, said the pro-Palestinian protests have been a source of pain and disappointment for her family and the Jewish community.

“The hateful rhetoric that we’re seeing on our streets is despicable. It’s unacceptable,” she said. 

Leshem said her family has been told that her cousin, Romi Gonen, is alive “but not in good condition” since her capture. 

She said all the hostages taken by Hamas have endured unimaginable pain and trauma.

“You want to be optimistic (about the ceasefire), but you also have to be very, very, very real, right?” she said. “The people that existed on Oct. 7 and the people that are going to be returning to us are going to be very different people.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed news of a ceasefire deal, saying he hopes it will “turn down the temperature” on tensions in Canada.

— With files from Sonja Puzic in Toronto and The Associated Press.

3) (Updated) Netanyahu postpones Cabinet vote on Gaza Strip ceasefire deal

Courtesy Barrie360.com and The Associated Press

By Tia Goldenberg, Wafaa Shurafa And Samy Magdy, January 16, 2025

Israel delayed a Cabinet vote Thursday on the long-awaited ceasefire deal that would pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of hostages. Israeli airstrikes, meanwhile, killed at least 72 people in the war-ravaged territory.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed a last-minute dispute with Hamas for holding up the approval as rising tensions in Netanyahu’s government coalition raised concerns about the implementation of the deal just a day after U.S. President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar announced it was complete.

That created a dual reality: War-weary Palestinians in Gaza, the relatives of hostages held in the enclave and world leaders all welcomed the result of months of painstaking diplomacy, even as Netanyahu postponed the Cabinet vote on the agreement that had been scheduled for Thursday until Friday, at the earliest.

Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement in an attempt to gain further concessions — without specifying which parts.

“Hamas is backing out of the understandings and creating a last-minute crisis that prevents a settlement,” Netanyahu’s office said.

In a briefing Thursday, David Mencer, an Israeli government spokesman, said Hamas’ new demands dealt with the deployment of Israeli forces in the Philadelphi corridor, the narrow strip bordering Egypt that Israeli troops seized in May.

Hamas denied the claims, with Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, saying the militant group “is committed to the ceasefire agreement, which was announced by the mediators.”

It wasn’t clear to what extent the holdup in the approval of the deal — originally scheduled to go into effect Sunday — also reflected jockeying to keep Netanyahu’s wobbly government together.

The ceasefire agreement has drawn fierce resistance from Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, on whose support the Israeli prime minister depends to remain in power. On Thursday, Israel’s hardline national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, threatened to quit the government if Israel approves the ceasefire.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called on Israel and Hamas to implement a Gaza ceasefire plan “without any delay” in an exclusive interview Thursday with The Associated Press. Egypt has been a key mediator between the enemies for years and a leading player in ongoing ceasefire negotiations.

The deal announced Wednesday would see scores of hostages held in Gaza released and a pause in fighting with a view to eventually wind down a 15-month war that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.

Hamas triggered the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack into Israel that killed some 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.

Israel responded with a devastating offensive that has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.

The military campaign has leveled vast swaths of Gaza, and pushed about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are struggling with hunger and disease in squalid tent camps on the coast.

Netanyahu faces heavy internal pressure

The Israeli prime minister faces great domestic pressure to bring home the hostages, whose families have pleaded with Netanyahu to prioritize the release of their loved ones over politics.

But Israeli divisions over the deal were on stark display Thursday, as Ben-Gvir, a key government coalition partner and Cabinet member, threatened to resign, saying the ceasefire was “reckless” and would “destroy all of Israel’s achievements.”

The departure of Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party would reduce the number of the ruling coalition’s seats in the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, from 68 to 62 — leaving Netanyahu’s government with just the slimmest of majorities. Ben-Gvir said his party would return to the coalition if Israel resumes its war.

Ben-Gvir’s resignation would not bring down the government or derail the ceasefire deal. But the move destabilizes the Israeli government at a delicate moment and could lead to the government’s collapse if Ben-Gvir is joined by other key Netanyahu allies.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, for instance, is vehemently opposed to the agreement and has demanded that Netanyahu promise to resume the war against Hamas after the first phase of the ceasefire as a condition of his party staying in the coalition.

A night of heavy Israeli strikes

Palestinians in Gaza reported heavy Israeli bombardment overnight as people were celebrating the ceasefire deal. In previous conflicts, both sides have stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires as a way to project strength.

“We were expecting that the (Israeli) occupation would intensify the bombing, like they did every time there were reports of progress in truce talks,” said Mohammed Mahdi, who is sheltering in Gaza City.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said Israeli strikes have killed at least 72 people since the ceasefire deal was announced. It said the toll from Thursday’s strikes only includes bodies brought to two hospitals in Gaza City and the actual toll is likely higher.

“Yesterday was a bloody day, and today is bloodier,” said Zaher al-Wahedi, a Health Ministry official.

The Israeli military said it had struck approximately 50 militant targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, including weapons storage facilities and rocket launch sites.

Anxiety spread across Gaza on Thursday with the news of last-minute quarreling between Hamas and Israeli officials.

“We ask our brothers in Hamas to communicate with mediators to end the war,” said Omar Jendiya, in Deir al-Balah. “Enough with the destruction and killing.”

A phased withdrawal and hostage release with potential pitfalls

Under the deal reached Wednesday, 33 of some 100 hostages who remain in Gaza are set to be released over the next six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israeli forces will pull back from many areas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would be able to return to what’s left of their homes, and there would be a surge of humanitarian assistance.

The remainder of the hostages, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second — and much more difficult — phase that will be negotiated during the first. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to keep fighting until it dismantles the group and to maintain open-ended security control over the territory.

Ceasefire leaves questions about Gaza’s future unanswered

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy joined the talks in the final weeks, and both the outgoing administration and Trump’s team are taking credit for the breakthrough.

Longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction.

Israel has come under heavy international criticism, including from its closest ally, the United States, over the civilian toll in Gaza. It also blames Hamas for the civilian casualties, accusing it of using schools, hospitals and residential areas for military purposes.

Hamas has come under overwhelming pressure from Israel’s invasion of Gaza’s largest cities and towns and seizure of the border between Gaza and Egypt. Its top leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, who was believed to have helped mastermind the 2023 attack, have been killed.

But its fighters have regrouped in some of the hardest-hit areas after the withdrawal of Israeli forces, raising the prospect of a prolonged insurgency if the war continues.

___ Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press reporter Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed.

4) Israel’s security Cabinet recommends approval of ceasefire in Gaza; deal now goes to full Cabinet

Courtesy Barrie360.com and  The Associated Press

By Sam Mednick And Samy Magdy, January 17, 2025

Israel’s security Cabinet recommended approval on Friday of a ceasefire deal after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed an agreement had been reached that would pause the 15-month war with Hamas in Gaza and release dozens of hostages held by militants there.

Mediators Qatar and the U.S. announced the ceasefire on Wednesday, but the deal hung in limbo for more than a day as Netanyahu insisted there were last-minute snags he blamed on Hamas.

The militants maintained they were “committed” to the deal, while residents of Gaza and families of the hostages anxiously waited to see if it would materialize.

The deal now goes to the full Cabinet of ministers for final sign-off. It is expected to OK the ceasefire, which could start as soon as Sunday, even though it has drawn fierce resistance from Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners. Their objections could destabilize his government, however.

Hamas triggered the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack into Israel that killed some 1,200 people and left some 250 others captive.

Israel responded with a devastating offensive that has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.

Beyond the death and destruction in Gaza, the conflict has also destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.

On Thursday, Israeli strikes killing at least 72 people in Gaza. In previous conflicts, both sides have stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires as a way to project strength.

A three-phase deal

Netanyahu instructed a special task force to prepare to receive the hostages returning from Gaza, and said that their families were informed a deal had been reached. The prime minister’s office said that if the deal passes, the ceasefire could start Sunday and the first hostages could be freed then too.

Under the deal, 33 of some 100 hostages who remain in Gaza are set to be released over six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israeli forces will pull back from many areas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would be able to return to what’s left of their homes, and there would be a surge of humanitarian assistance.

The remainder of the hostages, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second — and much more difficult — phase that will be negotiated during the first.

Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to keep fighting until it dismantles the group and to maintain open-ended security control over the territory.

Jaher Jabareen, head of Hamas’ office responsible for prisoners, said on Friday that the names of those expected to be released from Israeli jails will be published, but didn’t say when.

Longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction.

An Egyptian official and a Hamas official confirmed that the last-minute issues were over the list of Palestinian prisoners to be released from Israeli jails during the first phase of the deal, but those have now been resolved. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private negotiations. The Hamas official said mediators showed the group Israel’s approval.

The Egyptian official added that an Israeli delegation from the military and Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency arrived in Cairo on Friday to discuss the reopening of the Rafah crossing, a key link between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. An Israeli official who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations confirmed a delegation was going to Cairo to discuss the crossing.

Objections to the deal in Israel

On Thursday, Israel’s hard-line national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, threatened to quit the government if Israel approved the ceasefire. He reiterated that on Friday, writing on social media platform X: “If the ‘deal’ passes, we will leave the government with a heavy heart.”

Ben-Gvir’s resignation would not bring down the government or derail the ceasefire deal, but the move would destabilize the government at a delicate moment and could eventually lead to its collapse if Ben-Gvir were joined by other key Netanyahu allies.

___ Magdy reported from Cairo, Egypt