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Hamas: Israel has targeted location where hostage is being held
Since agreeing to a ceasefire last night, Israel has targeted a location in Gaza where a female hostage is being held, a spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas has said.
“After announcing the agreement, the enemy army targeted a place where one of the female prisoners of the first stage of the expected deal was located,” Abu Obeida of al Qassam Brigades said in a statement.
“Any aggression and shelling at this stage by the enemy could turn the freedom of a prisoner into a tragedy,” he added.
Israel is yet to comment on the Hamas claims.
Listen: Peace at last in the Middle East?
After 15 months of bloodshed, have Israel and Hamas finally reached a lasting ceasefire?
Richard Engel in Jerusalem gauges the reaction of Israelis and Palestinians, while Yalda Hakim reports from Doha where the truce was negotiated.
To get in touch or to share questions for Richard and Yalda, email theworld@sky.uk.
Click here to watch the full episode on YouTube.
Episodes of The World With Richard Engel And Yalda Hakim will be available every Wednesday on all podcast platforms.
Regional leaders express hope tempered with caution
Regional leaders have been reacting to the ceasefire agreement.
Egypt, which was heavily involved in the negotiations, welcomed the deal, with President Abdel Fattah el Sisi adding that the two-state solution had to be reached to “enjoy stability”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said on X:”We hope that the agreement will be beneficial for our region and all of humanity.”
Iran, which suffered serious damage by the weakening of its proxy militias, Hezbollah and Hamas, also welcomed the deal.
Lebanon’s president Jospeh Aoun, urged caution on X, saying Israel’s commitments need to be monitored.
Afghanistan’s foreign ministry hailed “the legendary patience of the Palestinian people”.
Deal uncertainty compounds agony for hostage families
Stephen Brisley, whose brother-in-law is being held in Gaza by Hamas, has told Sky News of the agony of “limbo” as uncertainty continues over the prospect of a ceasefire deal.
Eli Sharabi was taken alive as a hostage on 7 October, but his daughters were killed by Hamas, Brisley said.
“At his core, he’s a family man and we don’t know whether he knows the family he holds so dear to his heart has been wiped out,” he said.
They’ve also got no confirmation that he’s still alive, as Hamas have offered no proof of life.
“We don’t know whether we’re bringing him out to welcome him home or to bury him.”
It could possibly take weeks or months for Hamas to release him, so Brisley is keen to make sure the family are prepared for any eventuality.
“Even if he is alive today there’s no guarantee that he will be alive in several weeks time, so we’re having to temper our elation at the prospect of him coming home with the very real possibility that he’s not alive.”
Watch: Israelis protest against ceasefire deal
Hundreds of protesters have gathered in Jerusalem to demonstrate against the ceasefire deal, believing it is bad for Israel and that they have surrendered to Hamas.
Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall reports from the site of one protest:
Analysis: Terrifying spectre hangs over ambiguous Gaza ceasefire deal
By Alex Rossi, international correspondent in Jerusalem
In a region bereft of hope, the prospect of a ceasefire represents a flicker of possibility – but make no mistake, there’s still a great deal of uncertainty about the deal.
If all goes well, the violence in Gaza which has ravaged the enclave for 467 long and brutal days will halt and hopefully lead to a better future.
However, the question remains – just how likely is the ceasefire deal to succeed in the long term?
Read Rossi’s full analysis here.
Israel ‘continuing negotiations in Qatar’
The Israeli negotiating team is still in Qatar attempting to overcome the last-minute issues we’ve been reporting on throughout the day, according to a government spokesman.
“As of this time, the details of the agreement have not yet been finalised, and the negotiation team is continuing its efforts to reach a solution,” David Mencer said at a news conference.
He also confirmed that the Israeli negotiating team are still in Doha and that the government wants to bring the hostages home.
“No official announcement will be made by Israel about the success of these negotiations and the subsequent cabinet meeting,” he added.
How developments have affected the markets
By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter
Middle East instability is one of the factors that can be relied on to push up oil costs.
It should follow then that stability in the form of a Hamas-Israel ceasefire should bring prices down.
Not so – investors, it seems, don’t have full faith in the ceasefire holding.
Not enough, anyway, to cancel out the reasons pushing prices up – new US sanctions on Russia and Iran which are causing China and India to look elsewhere for supplies.
That’s putting pressure on alternative supplies and a depletion of US stockpiles.
In fact, as more news of the ceasefire came through the oil price went up to a high not seen since the summer – $82.50.
That’s from prices in the low 70s for much of November and December.
US confident last-minute ‘issues’ will be overcome
The Biden administration is “aware of these issues” raised by Israel over the ceasefire and hostage release deal, but is confident they will be overcome, according to a senior official.
White House national security council spokesman John Kirby told our partner network NBC News: “We’re going to get there,” adding that the deal “has got to get approved by the Israeli government”.
Israel has said that its cabinet will not meet to approve the deal, claiming Hamas was creating a “last-minute crisis”.
The group has denied this and said it was committed to the agreement.
Trump influence
When asked why the deal had not been agreed to months ago, Kirby said that what had changed was that “Hamas is weaker now and more willing to make a deal”.
He acknowledged that president-elect Donald Trump “certainly helped” to push the deal forward, saying “there’s plenty of credit to go around”.
But, he insisted “the hostages don’t care, the people of Gaza don’t care – they just want to go home”.
Aid trucks wait to enter Gaza
Aid trucks are lined up on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing with Gaza, waiting for the green light to enter once the ceasefire agreement begins.
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