Netanyahu on Reaching a Ceasefire Agreement in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that an agreement has been reached regarding a ceasefire and the return of hostages in the Gaza Strip. Prior to this announcement, Netanyahu's office reported that last-minute obstacles had arisen in finalizing the ceasefire deal. This was reported by The Associated Press.

Netanyahu stated that he would convene his security cabinet on January 17 in the second half of the day, followed by a meeting with government ministers to confirm the long-awaited agreement. Israel was expected to approve the agreement on January 16, but had postponed the vote on the matter, accusing the Palestinian Hamas movement of retracting certain points of the agreement at the last minute in an attempt to gain further concessions.

Hamas has denied these accusations, stating that it “remains committed to the ceasefire agreement as announced by the mediators.” Following the announcement of the ceasefire agreement, Israeli forces continued airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave. Reuters, citing local authorities, reported that at least 86 people had been killed in Gaza due to Israeli strikes on January 16.