TEL AVIV — Prime Minister Netanyahu said Thursday that a “last-minute crisis” with Hamas is holding up Israeli approval of a long-awaited ceasefire that would pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of hostages.

Mr. Netanyahu began signaling there were issues with the deal just hours after President Biden and key mediator Qatar announced it was complete. 

The objection created a dual reality: War-weary Palestinians in Gaza, the relatives of hostages held there, and world leaders all welcomed an agreement, expected to begin Sunday, even as Mr. Netanyahu said it was not yet finalized.

It is not yet clear if Mr. Netanyahu’s statements merely reflect jockeying to keep his fractious coalition together or whether the deal is at risk. Mr. Netanyahu’s office said his Cabinet won’t meet to approve the deal until Hamas backs down, accusing it of reneging on parts of the agreement in an attempt to gain further concessions, without elaborating.

A senior official of Hamas, Izzat al-Rishq, said the militant group “is committed to the ceasefire agreement, which was announced by the mediators.”

The deal announced Wednesday would see scores of hostages held in Gaza released and a pause in fighting with a view to eventually wind down a 15-month war that has destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.

Netanyahu faces internal pressure

Mr. Netanyahu’s office earlier accused Hamas of backtracking on an understanding that he said would give Israel a veto over which prisoners convicted of murder would be released in exchange for hostages.

The Israeli prime minister has faced great domestic pressure to bring home the scores of hostages, but his rightist coalition partners have threatened to bring down his government if he makes too many concessions. 

He has enough opposition support to approve an agreement even without those partners, but doing so would weaken his coalition. One of his allies on the right, the National Security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, has already come out against the deal. 

Another, Bezalel Smotrich, posted on X late Wednesday that he was demanding “absolute certainty” that Israel can resume the war later, calling the current deal “bad and dangerous” for Israel. The departure of both of their factions would seriously destabilize the government and could lead to early elections.

A phased withdrawal and hostage release with potential pitfalls

Under the deal reached Wednesday, 33 of some 100 hostages who remain in Gaza are set to be released over the next six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. 

Israeli forces will pull back from many areas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians would be able to return to what’s left of their homes, and there would be a surge of humanitarian assistance.

The remainder of the hostages, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second — and much more difficult — phase that will be negotiated during the first. 

Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal, while Israel has vowed to keep fighting until it dismantles the group and to maintain open-ended security control over the territory.

Ceasefire leaves questions about Gaza’s future unanswered

Mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and America are expected to meet at Cairo on Thursday for talks on implementing the agreement, which came after a year of intensive talks with repeated setbacks.

President-elect Trump’s Mideast envoy joined the talks in the final weeks, and both the outgoing administration and Trump’s team are taking credit for the breakthrough.

Many longer-term questions about postwar Gaza remain, including who will rule the territory or oversee the daunting task of reconstruction.