Ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas brings hope, but death toll in Gaza rises as Netanyahu blames Hamas for ‘last-minute crisis’

the The agreement reached between Israel and Hamas The Gaza ceasefire and immediate release of hostages brought joy to thousands of people across the devastated Palestinian territories, but there and in the streets of Israel, hope was still shackled by anxiety Thursday morning. Tensions were fueled by increasing bloodshed in Gaza, and doubts cast by the Israeli leader about the solidity of the deal announced the previous evening.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that a “last-minute crisis” with Hamas is delaying Israel’s final approval of a long-awaited truce. Israeli media reports indicated that the delay is likely due to Netanyahu’s attempt to buy time to deal with the nationalist extremists in his government who strongly oppose any agreement with Hamas.

US Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Viner said: “We fully expect that the agreement will proceed as described yesterday, and according to the timetable that we set, so that implementation begins on Sunday with a ceasefire and the release of the first hostages.” Thursday on “CBS Mornings,” he acknowledged “a host of implementation details and conditions that will be a challenge throughout the implementation of this deal, which will extend well into the next administration.”

Viner said President Biden spoke with Netanyahu “twice in the past few days, including yesterday after the agreement was reached in Doha.”

The deal is fragile, and its logistics will be extremely complex – even Hamas safely transporting the hostages to the delivery point would pose major security challenges.

The agreement is not scheduled to enter into force before Sunday, and with the increase of the Israeli army Attacks in Gaza Rather than loosening it in the wake of the deal — and none of the roughly 100 hostages were expected to return home for several days — no one who spoke with CBS News on both sides of the border seemed willing to take on the peace that looms so tantalizingly yet. The expiration of the deal is a given. Horizon.

In Gaza, “a new opportunity to live”

For the people of Gaza, this was the best possible news. Hearing that the incessant bombing of their towns and villages would stop on Sunday brought overwhelming relief and joy.

A young boy who spoke to the CBS News team on the Strip summed it up in three words: “We’re going home!”

Mahmoud Kurdieh, who lives in the southern city of Khan Yunis after being forced to leave his home in northern Gaza, said he cannot wait to return, even though he knows he has nothing to return to.

“I want to go back to my home to see my family, my neighbors and my home. Even though my home is just ruins now, I still want to see it. I want to remove the rubble and put my tent on the top of the mountain. Destroy and tell Israel that I am “I’m back.”

However, like everyone else, he was fully aware that peace, if it came, was still three days away.

Israel appeared to intensify its attacks on Wednesday evening, killing more than 70 people between the ceasefire agreement that was announced and Thursday morning, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza and the Civil Defense Rescue Agency in the Strip. The two agencies told CBS News that the dead included 21 children and 24 women.

However, Cordia could only hold out hope.

“This news means a new opportunity to live,” he said. “This means a new opportunity for us to live and watch our children live and grow and get an education. It is just a new hope for survival. This is the ceasefire we hope to get.”

Israeli hostage’s cousin is happy – but ‘not breathing’

In Tel Aviv, a small crowd gathered Wednesday night at the spot where, week after week, demonstrators have demanded that the Israeli government return the remaining hostages to their homeland.

Among them was Yifat Calderon. Her cousin Ofer was among 251 people kidnapped during the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023, which saw gunmen kill about 1,200 people and sparked the nearly 480-day war.

Ofer was among dozens of people kidnapped by gunmen who stormed Kibbutz Nir Oz. Over the age of 50, he must be among the hostages released by Hamas in the first phase of the three-phase ceasefire agreement.

But when asked if she felt too comfortable Wednesday night, Calderon made it clear that feelings would have to wait.

She said: “No.” “I will feel very relieved when that is done. When will we be able to bring home all the 90 to 98 hostages and dead people?”

As bombs continued to fall in Gaza and there was no sign of any new level of trust between Israel and Hamas, hostage families across Israel were kept waiting and worried about everything that might go wrong.

“I’m not saying I’m not happy,” Calderon said. “But I’m trying to, you know, take care of myself, not to be, you know, I don’t want to – I want to see them, first and foremost. Until I see them cross the border. The border… I won’t believe anything.”

“I won’t breathe till then – we’ll get them all home.”