Israel-Hamas ceasefire live: Truce to begin on Sunday as Gaza strikes reported hours after deal announced
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a ceasefire agreement with Hamas is still not complete and the final details are being worked out even as the group in Gaza reportedly accepted the truce deal on Wednesday.
The truce will bring a temporary halt to Israel’s more than a-year-long war in Gaza, which has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians.
Netanyahu said that Hamas was objecting to a part of the agreement that gave Israel the ability to veto the release of certain Palestinian prisoners.
The deal, which is due to begin on Sunday, promises the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and will allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes.
A senior Biden administration official credited the presence of president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, as being critical to reaching the agreement.
Despite the ongoing truce talks, heavy Israeli bombardment, especially in Gaza City, killed 32 people late on Wednesday, medics in the Hamas-run Strip said.
