Biden's ceasefire plan tightens political deadlock for Netanyahu in Israel

The dueling bids were directed at Netanyahu, whose office said Friday that it had “authorized” the text of the three-phase deal announced Friday by President Biden. But on Saturday, he added that “Israel's conditions for ending the war have not changed” and that any agreement that does not condition a permanent ceasefire on the destruction of Hamas's military and government capabilities is “doomed to fail”.

The proposal includes stopping fighting for six weeks to exchange hostages held by Hamas for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a significant increase in aid shipments to the enclave. At least 36,439 people have been killed and 82,627 injured in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women. and children. Israel estimates that around 1,200 people were killed in the October 7 Hamas attack, most of them civilians, and that 253 people were taken hostage. It claims that 293 soldiers have been killed since the launch of its military operation in Gaza.

Hamas said Friday that it viewed Biden's speech on the agreement “positively” and that it “affirmed its position of willingness to treat in a positive and constructive manner any proposal based on a permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction, return to the Gaza Strip. displaced them to all their places of residence and the conclusion of a serious prisoner exchange agreement.

Biden's televised speech took place after sunset Friday, as some far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition observed the Jewish Sabbath, during which they refrain from working or using their phones.

At the end of the Sabbath Saturday evening, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir tweeted that the deal “is not an absolute victory, but rather an absolute defeat.” If Netanyahu moves forward, he said, his party will “dismantle the government.”

Bezalel Smotrich, another ultranationalist member of Netanyahu's coalition, tweeted that he told Netanyahu he would also leave the government if the deal was reached.

“We demand the continuation of fighting until the destruction of Hamas and the return of all hostages, the creation of a completely different security reality in Gaza and Lebanon, the return of all residents to their homes in the north and in the south and investment in the accelerated development of these regions of the country,” he said.

For weeks, Netanyahu has been under competing pressures: from moderate members of his war cabinet, who are pushing for a deal, and from the less influential, more hard-line partners in his coalition and his base, who have continually insisted on an “absolute” agreement. victory” in Gaza.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the government would not necessarily collapse without Ben Gvir and Smotrich, and that he would be willing to provide a “safety net” that would allow it to carry out the agreement. ceasefire and hostage releases.

“The threats from Ben Gvir and Smotrich are [an act of] abandoning national security, hostages and residents of the north and south,” Lapid tweeted Saturday evening. “This is the worst and most reckless government in the history of the country. From their point of view, let there be a war here forever. »

The tweet exchanges coincided with several protests in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, during which more than 120,000 people took to the streets, according to organizers. They chanted calls for the government to implement the deal, saying they saw Biden's announcement as a turning point after eight months of agonizing limbo.

“We will continue to fight until the government of destruction says yes to Netanyahu's deal,” said Ayala Metzger, whose father-in-law, Yoram Metzger, 80, is detained in Gaza. She spoke near Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, where police clashed with thousands of protesters chanting the immediate overthrow of the government. His leg was injured by police cavalry, according to videos that circulated on social media.

“I hope Biden's speech will put pressure on everyone who needs to be put on the table for a deal,” said Mor Kornigold, whose brother Tal Shoham is detained in Gaza.

If the hostages do not return, he said, “we will never have victory.”

“Our trust, as citizens, in the government collapsed on October 7 and nothing has been done to repair it,” said Gil Dickman, whose cousin Carmel Gat is hostage.

“Biden presents himself as the responsible adult in the room, saying, 'I'm going to explain the situation to you, so that no one can walk away later for one political reason or another,'” Dickman said. Addressing Netanyahu, he added: “Biden says this train has already left the station. Now the question is whether you're going to swoop in and take the hostages home or whether you're going to stand with your head against the wall, like you want to continue the war forever.”

Hostage families have stepped up efforts to pressure the government to restart negotiations, trying to convince officials that the Israeli public would support a deal that would return all the hostages.

“Representatives of the families have called on all government ministers and coalition members to publicly commit to supporting the deal, to do everything possible to ensure it is implemented immediately and to block any attempts to torpedo him,” said a statement from the Hostage Families Forum on Saturday. an umbrella organization representing most of the relatives of those detained in Gaza.

“It’s now or never,” Dickman said.

He said that on Thursday, National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi told him and several other relatives of the hostages that if the current ceasefire proposal was not implemented, “there would be no plan B”.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whose position is largely ceremonial, said Sunday that he thanked Biden for his speech and pledged Netanyahu his full support in a hostage deal.

“We must not forget that according to Jewish tradition, there is no greater commandment than to ransom captives and hostages, especially when it comes to Israeli citizens that the State of Israel does not 'was not able to defend,' he said during a speech at the Hebrew University. of Jerusalem.

In a statement released Saturday, the United States, Egypt and Qatar – three countries that have been trying for months to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas – said: “These principles brought together the demands of all parties in an agreement that serves multiple interests and will serve multiple interests. provide immediate relief to both the long-suffering population of Gaza as well as the long-suffering hostages and their families.

“This agreement provides a roadmap for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the crisis,” the statement said.

Here's what else to know

Officials from the United States, Israel and Egypt are meeting in Cairo on Sunday to discuss the reopening of the Rafah border crossing. to let much-needed aid into Gaza, a former Egyptian official familiar with the negotiations told the Washington Post. The proposal on the table would be temporary to manage the aid crisis, the official added, saying it would take effect during a six-week deadline “set by Joe Biden to stop the fighting.”

The 36 shelters in Rafah belonging to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) are “empty now”. declared Philippe Lazzarini, general commissioner of the agency. The recent escalation of Israeli operations in the region has triggered an exodus of more than a million people from Rafah – most of whom have already been displaced several times, Lazzarini said Saturday evening. “All eyes are on the proposal to end this war with a ceasefire, the release of all hostages and a substantial and secure flow of urgent supplies to Gaza,” he wrote. The Israeli military said Sunday it was continuing its operations in the area, killing militants and locating weapons.

The Israeli military said Israeli Air Force jets struck a military compound used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. in response to a Hezbollah surface-to-air missile fired Saturday at an IDF drone operating in Lebanese airspace. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack on the unmanned vehicle on Saturday.

Yemen's Houthi militant group said late Saturday it had targeted the U.S. aircraft carrier Eisenhower – the second such attack on the ship this week. The group said it carried out five other operations, including targeting a US destroyer in the Red Sea. The Houthis said the attacks were a response to the IDF's “crimes against the displaced in Rafah” and the expansion of military operations at this stage of the war, as well as in response to US-British strikes on Yemen more early in the week.

Dadouch reported from Beirut. Heba Farouk Mahfouz contributed to this report.