Gaza War: On the eve of the agreement entering into force, Netanyahu refuses to withdraw from the Philadelphia axis and threatens to return to fighting “forcefully.”

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will enter into force at 8:30 local time (6:30 GMT) on Sunday morning, January 19, 2025.

The Israeli government also approved the agreement, paving the way for its implementation on schedule.

The agreement includes three phases, and the first phase is expected to last for 6 weeks. In the first batch, 95 Palestinian prisoners, including 10 teenagers, will be released in exchange for the release of three Israeli civilian hostages. The agreement also stipulates a “comprehensive ceasefire” and an Israeli withdrawal from populated areas in Gaza.

This agreement comes 15 months after the war launched by Israel against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Qatar, the United States, and Egypt mediated this agreement, which aims to end the ongoing conflict and alleviate human suffering in Gaza.

US President-elect, Donald Trump, said that the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas “must” be completed before his inauguration on Monday, pointing out that his participation was decisive in the negotiations.

Trump claimed that US President Joe Biden did nothing.

On the other hand, outgoing US President Joe Biden said that he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “The idea that Israel will be able to support itself in the long term without accommodating the Palestinian issue will not happen.”

Biden added, “I was reminding my friend, even though we don’t agree much lately, Bibi Netanyahu, that he has to find a way to accommodate the legitimate concerns of a large group of people called Palestinians, who have no place to live independently.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “We are determined to accomplish the war goals by returning the kidnapped people and destroying Hamas,” and Netanyahu pledged to “complete the implementation of all war goals,” stressing that Presidents Biden and Trump gave him “full support” in that.

On the eve of implementing the ceasefire decision in Gaza and exchanging hostages, he added that the first phase of the agreement “is a temporary ceasefire,” and stressed that Israel “has the right to return to fighting if necessary,” with American blessing.

Netanyahu noted that President-elect Trump “pledged to release all weapons that were suspended during the Biden era.”

Netanyahu touched on the Philadelphia axis and the buffer zone around the Gaza Strip, and said that the Israeli army “will increase its presence there,” denying reports of the Israeli army’s departure from the Philadelphia axis.

In his speech, he stated that the Hamas movement “changed its position because of our success in isolating it in the battle,” and said, “We achieved achievements and changed the picture in the entire Middle East, and Hamas became alone.”

Regarding the Palestinian prisoners expected to be released in the deal, Netanyahu explained that those he described as “released terrorists” would be deported to Gaza or abroad.

Speaking to Israeli Insider, Netanyahu said that the battle “is not over yet,” and this is a time that requires unity. He added: “We are making clear to the entire world that when the Israeli people unite, there is no force that can break them.”

The first stage (42 days):

Ceasefire: The cessation of mutual military operations between Israel and Hamas begins to take effect.

Withdrawal of Israeli forces: Israel withdraws its forces from populated areas in the Gaza Strip.

Exchange of prisoners and hostages: 95 Palestinian prisoners, including 10 teenagers, are released in exchange for the release of three Israeli civilian hostages.

Return of the displaced: The displaced are allowed to return to their homes in the areas that have been secured.

Humanitarian aid: Increasing the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, with 600 aid trucks allowed to enter daily.

Phase 2 (6 weeks):

Expanded prisoner and hostage exchanges: More prisoners and hostages are released on both sides.

Continued withdrawal of Israeli forces: Israel continues its withdrawal from additional areas in Gaza.

Expanding humanitarian aid: Increasing the amount of humanitarian aid and expanding its scope to include new areas.

Stage 3 (unspecified):

Final settlement: The parties seek to reach a final settlement that includes issues such as the reconstruction of Gaza, determining a mechanism to govern the Strip, and security guarantees for both parties.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid pledged to support Prime Minister Netanyahu after Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said his party would resign from the government if it agreed to a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza.

Lapid, the leader of the Yesh Atid party, posted on the X website: “I say to Benjamin Netanyahu, do not be afraid or intimidated, you will get the safety net you need to conclude the hostage deal. This is more important than any disagreement that has ever happened between us.”

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Saturday evening that Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announced his resignation from the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in protest against the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

Ben Gvir, who is also the leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, said that he and his party would resign from the Knesset if the agreement was approved, noting that “this agreement will destroy the achievements achieved in the war on the Gaza Strip.”

At the same time, the newspaper said that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich confirmed Netanyahu’s commitment to gradually controlling the Gaza Strip and keeping it “uninhabitable,” as he put it.

An Israeli police statement said that three demonstrators were arrested on charges of disturbing public order and damaging cars that were driving near a demonstration opposing the hostage deal in Jerusalem last Wednesday.

Police said one suspect was arrested after he sprayed pepper spray on protesters.

The statement added that the demonstrators also obstructed traffic, including emergency service vehicles, and set fires in the middle of the road.

Opponents of the recently announced deal say its terms endanger Israeli national security by releasing many convicted Palestinians and leaving some hostages in detention.

The Egyptian border cities in North Sinai raised the state of alert in their hospitals, and ambulances and trucks loaded with relief materials lined up near the Rafah crossing in preparation for the start of the truce in the Gaza Strip tomorrow morning, Sunday.

The Egyptian Minister of Health confirmed that North Sinai hospitals are able to accommodate 500 cases from Gaza and distribute them according to the severity of the infection, with some cases directed to other governorates.

He added: “There is a complete emergency system that has been activated in the region, with 150 ambulances equipped to move between the regions of North Sinai and the rest of the governorates if necessary.”

Humanitarian aid convoys are heading to the Gaza border awaiting the entry into force of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Antoine Renard, spokesman for the World Food Programme, said Gazans deserve to get back on their feet after 15 months of aid restrictions.

It is worth noting that before the October 7 attack, launched by Hamas on Israel, about 600 humanitarian aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip daily, according to United Nations data, then the number decreased to nine trucks daily during the period that followed the beginning of the war, and a record The average number of trucks entering Gaza daily, at the beginning of January, was 51 trucks.

Ben Gvir had previously stated that Israel must completely stop the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip until the hostages return, threatening at the same time to submit his resignation from the government if the ceasefire agreement is ratified.

Renard said the World Food Program provided only a third of the rations people were supposed to receive, and had to stop the operation of major bakeries due to fuel shortages.

The ceasefire agreement allows 600 aid trucks to enter Gaza daily, including 50 trucks loaded with fuel, which Renard described as a “lifeline” for “2.2 million people who depend on aid.”

At the field level, hours before the agreement entered into force, a young man was killed and others were injured by Israeli army gunfire in the Abu Ta’ima area, east of the town of Al-Fukhari, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.