By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Thursday denied media reports claimed that Hamas had given final approval to a ceasefire-for-hostage deal.
“Hamas hasn’t yet replied to the deal,” the office said in a statement.
Israel’s state-owned Kan TV news reported that Hamas had provided a positive response to the draft agreement, though technical issues remain unresolved.
Netanyahu met on Wednesday with Bezalel Smotrich, a key far-right partner in his coalition government, to persuade him and his Religious Zionism party to support the deal, media reported.
The ultranationalist Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, strongly opposed the agreement, advocated for continued fighting in Gaza.
Netanyahu has secured majority support in both the cabinet and the government, even if both parties oppose the deal, according to Israeli news outlets.
Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas have been ongoing but largely stalled for nearly a year with the aim to end ove fighting that has devastated Gaza and destabilized the region.
Israeli forces had intensified their assault on Gaza, hit 50 sites since early Wednesday, Israeli authorities said.
Israeli Shin Bet domestic security agency and the military in a joint statement reported that the airstrikes targeted militants, weapons storage facilities, underground infrastructure, anti-tank fire positions, and Hamas military structures.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defence Authority in Gaza, reported that the authority had retrieved the bodies of 7 people and rescued dozens of wounded individuals after Israeli aircraft targeted the Al-Farabi School with at least one missile.
According to him, the school, located in the Yarmouk area west of Gaza City, was housing displaced people.
The Israeli statement confirmed the strike, stated that it targeted a militant “holding a central position” who was hiding in the building, which they described as “a command and control centre” for attacks on Israeli forces in Gaza.
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