Netanyahu Says He's 'Unable to Move Forward' With Gaza Ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he cannot proceed with the agreed-upon ceasefire deal with Hamas until he receives a list of hostages to be released on Sunday.

"We will be unable to move forward with the framework until we receive the list of the hostages who will be released, as was agreed. Israel will not tolerate violations of the agreement. Hamas is solely responsible," a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, said.

Newsweek reached out to a spokesperson for Netanyahu's office on Saturday afternoon for comment.

The Context

The Israeli government initially delayed formally approving the deal on Thursday and Friday, citing a "last minute crisis" and accusing Hamas of reneging on an earlier agreement granting Israel veto over which prisoners convicted of murder would be released in exchange for hostages.

However, the Israeli government approved the deal on Saturday just after 1 a.m. local time, with the first of three phases that would see the return of hostages from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners starting on Sunday.

What To Know

The prime minister's office made the announcement of another delay late on Saturday local time, citing a need for the names of hostages before the deal could proceed.

Netanyahu followed that announcement with a formal address from his office, crediting both President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump for bringing the deal to fruition.

According to a translation of the statement given to the press and posted to X by Mark Dubowitz of the Foundation for Defense of Democracy, Netanyahu made a statement of strength and threat to "return to fighting if necessary" if certain conditions are not met to maintain the ceasefire agreement. He also stressed that Trump referred to the deal as a "temporary ceasefire."

"Both President Trump and President Biden have given full backing to Israel's right to resume fighting if we conclude that negotiations for the next stage are futile. I deeply appreciate this support," Netanyahu said.

"To date, we have brought back 157 of our hostages, 117 of them alive. Under the agreement now approved, we will bring home another 33 of our brothers and sisters, most of them alive," he later added.

"Hamas now finds itself battered and isolated. This is precisely how the conditions for a change in their position—and for the release of our hostages—were created. Today, Hamas agrees to terms it previously rejected," he said.

What People Are Saying

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont on Friday posted to X: "My hope is that the war in Gaza will now end, and the hostages will finally return to their families. But let's be clear: the US enabled this mass atrocity by providing an endless supply of weapons to Netanyahu and failing to exert real leverage. This must not happen again."

Jonathan Harounoff, Israel's international spokesperson to the United Nations, on Friday told Newsweek: "Israel is committed to bringing home every single one of our hostages. We are grateful that President Biden and President-elect Trump and their teams worked together expeditiously on this issue. We appreciate how the outgoing and incoming administrations put politics aside at this transitional juncture to help advance a hostage agreement."

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Update, 1/18/25 at 2:10 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information, context, and statements.