Israeli far-right minister Ben-Gvir threatens to leave government

Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened on Thursday to leave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government if it agrees to the ceasefire agreement for the Gaza Strip.

At a press conference, he criticized that the agreement with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which mediators announced on Wednesday evening, would enable the terrorist groups in Gaza to regroup and once again become a threat to the residents in southern Israel.

The agreement reached after months of indirect negotiations involves a multi-stage process aimed at ending the fighting in the Gaza Strip and securing the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas. The agreement is set to take effect on Sunday at 1015 GMT.

Netanyahu has not yet confirmed the agreement. As some details remain unresolved, negotiations were continuing on Thursday in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Meetings of the Israeli security Cabinet and the entire government, originally planned for Thursday, have been postponed. These bodies still need to approve the Gaza agreement.