Cairo:
Two Hamas leaders on Thursday rejected Israeli accusations that the Palestinian group of operators was backtracking on elements of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage releases announced the day before.
Israeli media said the government's ratification of the agreement could be delayed in part due to disagreements within the ruling coalition.
Two members of Hamas's political bureau rejected a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office saying the group reneged on elements of the deal to “extort last-minute concessions.”
“There is no basis for Netanyahu's claims that the movement is backtracking on the terms of the ceasefire,” Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP.
Another member of the political bureau, Izzat al-Rishq, said separately in a statement: “Hamas is committed to the ceasefire announced by the mediators.”
Netanyahu's office had previously said that Israel's cabinet would not meet to vote on the deal until mediators notified Israel that Hamas had accepted all elements of the deal.
The deal, which followed many months of failed negotiations, was brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States.
At midnight (10pm GMT Wednesday), Netanyahu's office said the “final details” were still being negotiated and that the prime minister would not comment until the full deal was agreed.
According to Israeli public radio, the delay in issuing such a statement is due to a crisis within the governing coalition involving far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has strongly opposed any agreement to end the war.
Citing a source close to the talks, public broadcaster KAN said Netanyahu wanted to protect the integrity of his government but that Smotrich posed a “real threat.”
On Wednesday, Smotrich called it a “dangerous deal” for Israel's security.
Smotrich's party, Religious Zionism, issued a statement Thursday saying it supports the finance minister and “strongly opposes the deal.”
The ceasefire is expected to end more than fifteen months of war. Mediators say there are three phases.
In the first case, a ceasefire would come into effect on Sunday and 33 hostages would be exchanged for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners over the course of 42 days, while aid to the devastated Gaza Strip would increase.
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