Israel has delayed a cabinet vote on the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, blaming Hamas for reneging on parts of the agreement. The ceasefire deal that prompted premature celebrations in Gaza and was expected to take effect on Sunday, January 19. The Israeli military has stepped up attacks on the Gaza Strip since the announcement, killing at least 81 Palestinians in the past 24 hours, according to the enclave's Health Ministry. Just hours after the deal was reached, Israeli bombardment killed at least 45 people in Gaza City alone, according to the Gaza Civil Defense. Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq says the deal reached in the Qatari capital, Doha, meets all of the Palestinian group's conditions, including the full withdrawal of Israeli forces, the return of displaced people to their homes and a permanent end to the war. Israel's war in Gaza has killed at least 46,788 Palestinians and wounded 110,453 since October 7, 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 were taken captive. International aid agencies welcomed the deal and vowed to scale up their work in Gaza. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees called for "rapid, unhindered and uninterrupted humanitarian access" to the strip to relieve the suffering caused by war. Gaza ceasefire terms are understood to allow 600 aid trucks per day into Gaza. While this presents a huge opportunity to expand much-needed deliveries into the war-battered enclave, there are still serious challenges that could impede humanitarian relief, says Martin Griffiths, a former senior UN humanitarian coordinator. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Griffiths said it would be difficult to quickly mobilize enough aid trucks into Gaza and expressed concern that looting and attacks on convoys could worsen. Israel's plan to ban UNRWA, the largest aid group operating in Gaza, would seriously jeopardize the aid delivery process, he added. "There has to be a negotiated suspension or removal of those plans to contain UNRWA," Griffiths said. "Otherwise, we'll all be in huge trouble... It's just inconceivable." Othman Moqbel, CEO of Action For Humanity, one of the leading NGOs working in Gaza, says while the ceasefire deal won't come into effect until Sunday, "this does not give Israel a blank cheque to commit as many war crimes as possible between now and then". "The world must pressure Israel to halt their aggression immediately. This ceasefire deal was called 466 days too late, 46,000 people have been murdered by this senseless war," he said in a statement. "That's almost 100 a day, on average. Four more days of Israel continuing like this, could kill at least another 400 people, if not more. The time to stop the killing of Palestinians is not Sunday. It is now." Earlier, Gaza's Civil Defense reported that at least 73 Palestinians, including 20 children and 25 women, have been killed and more than 230 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza since the announcement of the latest ceasefire agreement. Some protesters objecting to the ceasefire and hostage deal agreed between Israel and Hamas blocked the road into Jerusalem on Thursday. Dozens of cars were filmed in traffic, while one man on the street held a sign reading "yes to victory, no to surrender." Elsewhere, a few protesters stood with mock coffins outside Israel's Supreme Court in Jerusalem to protest the agreement. — Agencies
