Israel’s cabinet has postponed a crucial vote on the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal until Saturday, with a smaller security cabinet vote now scheduled for Friday. This shift in the timeline follows the original meeting planned for Thursday, as reported by CNN.
According to an Israeli official, the full cabinet vote on the agreement is now expected to take place on Saturday. However, the smaller security cabinet will convene on Friday to vote on the deal.
In response to threats from a coalition party to quit the government if the deal is approved, opposition leader Yair Lapid urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to proceed with the deal. In a rough translation of a post on X, Lapid wrote, “I say to Benjamin Netanyahu, don’t be afraid or intimidated, you will get every safety net you need to make the hostage deal. This is more important than any disagreement we’ve ever had.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician, strongly criticized the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, calling it “reckless.” He argued that the agreement would undermine the achievements of the war and warned that if approved, his party, Otzma Yehudit, would withdraw from the government.
In a rough translation of a post on X, Ben-Gvir wrote, “The deal that is taking shape is a reckless deal. It includes the release of hundreds of murderous terrorists, the return of thousands of terrorists to the northern Gaza Strip, a withdrawal from the Philadelphia axis, and a cessation of fighting, and thus the deal will effectively erase the achievements of the war.”
He further added, “Not only that, it does not lead to the release of all the hostages, it leaves the fate of the remaining hostages who are not included in the deal uncertain, and it will lead to an end to the war when Hamas has not yet been defeated, with a significant ability to rebuild itself. Therefore, if this reckless deal is approved and implemented, the Otzma Yehudit party will not be part of the government and will withdraw from it.”
As tensions continue to rise, Israeli strikes have killed 86 people and injured 258 since the ceasefire agreement was announced on Wednesday, according to a spokesperson from Gaza’s Civil Defence. The daily death toll immediately following the ceasefire announcement is the highest in over a week. The casualties include 23 children, as reported by spokesperson Mahmoud Basal in his Thursday press release, CNN reported.