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GAZA CEASE-FIRE

'Loose ends' in Gaza deal tied up, Blinken expects truce to begin Sunday

'Loose ends' in Gaza deal tied up, Blinken expects truce to begin Sunday

Trucks carrying aid line up near the Rafah border, waiting to cross into the Gaza Strip, following the announcement of a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in al-Arish, Egypt, Jan. 16, 2025. (Credit: Reuters)

The final disputes holding up a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas were resolved Thursday evening, according to reports from Haaretz and Axios, the latter citing an unnamed U.S. official and the former citing a member of the Israeli cabinet.

Shas (an Israeli ultra-Orthodox religious party) chairman Arye Dery said he was informed that the negotiation teams "overcame all the obstacles and the deal is moving forward," Haaretz reported. Teams were "working on the final technical wording."

The Israeli cabinet was expected to convene Thursday to review and officially approve the cease-fire deal, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said his government would not meet until the disputes in Doha were resolved. Following news of success in Qatar, sources told Haaretz that cabinet would convene on Friday to approve the deal.

The Israeli security cabinet is set to meet first, on Friday morning, to approve the deal, a senior Israeli source told Haaretz, followed by a meeting of the whole cabinet, where MPs will vote on the deal. however, Israeli ministers have not yet been officially summoned to discuss the deal.

Netanyahu's spokesperson had blamed Hamas for holding up progress by pushing back against Israel's attempts to veto certain prisoners' release and over the specifics of Israeli army presence along the Philadelphi Corridor between Egypt and Gaza.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday he is confident the Gaza cease-fire will begin on Sunday as was announced by the Qatari prime minister on Wednesday, despite the last-minute disputes.

Blinken, in his last news conference as the U.S. top diplomat, said he had been speaking to U.S. negotiator Brett McGurk and Qatari officials on Thursday morning (Washingon time) to resolve the issue.

"It's not exactly surprising that in a process and negotiation that has been this challenging and this fraught, you may get a loose end," he said. "We're tying up that loose end as we speak."

The final disputes holding up a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas were resolved Thursday evening, according to reports from Haaretz and Axios, the latter citing an unnamed U.S. official and the former citing a member of the Israeli cabinet.Shas (an Israeli ultra-Orthodox religious party) chairman Arye Dery said he was informed that the negotiation teams "overcame all the...