Israel delayed the Cabinet vote on Thursday on the long-awaited anti-war treaty which would stop fighting in Gaza Strip and release many captives. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 72 people in the devastated area.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the last conflict with Hamas for keeping the deal as growing tensions within the Netanyahu government raised concerns over the deal’s implementation a day after US President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar announced it was dead.

This led to two realities: Palestinians who are tired of the conflict in Gaza, relatives of those who were captured in prisons and international leaders received the results of painful months of negotiations, although Netanyahu postponed the cabinet vote on the agreement that was planned for Thursday. until Friday, very early.

Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of abandoning parts of the deal in an attempt to renegotiate it – without specifying which parts.

“Hamas is moving away from understanding and creating the last problem that prevents stability,” Netanyahu’s office said.

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In a brief statement on Thursday, David Mencer, a spokesman for the Israeli government, said the new demands of Hamas related to the deployment of Israeli soldiers in the Philadelphi Street, a small area on the border with Egypt that the Israeli army captured in May.

Hamas denied the claims, while Izzat al-Rishq, the head of Hamas’s armed forces, said the terrorist group was “committed to the cease-fire agreement, which was announced by the Hamas.”

It was not clear to what extent the ratification of the deal – which was due to take effect on Sunday – also signaled a rush to keep Netanyahu’s government together.

The ceasefire deal has sparked fierce opposition from Netanyahu’s right-wing allies, on whose support the Israeli prime minister depends to stay in power. On Thursday, Israel’s hard-line defense minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, threatened to resign if Israel agreed to a ceasefire.

The coalition announced Wednesday the release of dozens of hostages in Gaza and a ceasefire aimed at ending the 15-month conflict that has rocked the Middle East and sparked protests around the world.

Hamas started a conflict with Oct. 7, 2023, a border attack in Israel that killed nearly 1,200 people and injured 250 others.

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Israel responded with a devastating massacre that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and terrorists but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.

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The military campaign has devastated large parts of Gaza, pushing nearly 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes. Hundreds of people struggle with hunger and disease in squalid tent camps along the coast.

The Israeli prime minister is facing domestic pressure to bring back hostages, whose families have pleaded with Netanyahu to facilitate the release of their political loved ones.

But Israel’s divisions over the deal became apparent on Thursday, when Ben-Gvir, a government ally and member of the cabinet, threatened to resign, saying the ceasefire was “irresponsible” and “damages everything Israel has done.” “

The departure of Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party reduces the number of seats for the ruling coalition in Israel’s parliament, or Knesset, from 68 to 62 – leaving Netanyahu’s government with a very small majority. Ben-Gvir said his party would return to the agreement if Israel resumed its conflict.

Ben-Gvir’s resignation will not bring down the government or undermine the ceasefire agreement.

But the move destabilizes the Israeli government in the short term and could lead to the collapse of the government if Ben-Gvir is joined by other key supporters of Netanyahu. For example, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich strongly opposes the deal and demanded that Netanyahu promise to resume the conflict against Hamas after the first phase of the ceasefire if his party remains in the deal.

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Palestinians in Gaza reported heavy Israeli shelling on the night of the ceasefire agreement. In past conflicts, both sides have increased military activity in the final hours before fighting as a way to build momentum.

“We expected the (Israeli) operation to increase the bombardment, as it does every time it is heard that the talks are going well,” said Mohammed Mahdi, who lives in Gaza City.

The Ministry of Health in Hamas-run Gaza has said that Israeli forces have killed at least 72 people since the ceasefire agreement was announced. It added that the threat of Thursday’s attacks only included bodies brought to two hospitals in Gaza City, and that the real threat was higher.

“Yesterday was a bloody day, and today is a bloody day,” said Zaher al-Wahedi, an employee of the Ministry of Health.

The Israeli army said it had struck about 50 terrorist sites across the Gaza Strip in the previous day, including weapons depots and rocket sites.

Anxiety spread across Gaza on Thursday with news of the latest clashes between Hamas and Israeli authorities.

“We are asking our brothers in Hamas to talk to mediators to end the war,” said Omar Jendiya, in Deir al-Balah. “Enough is destruction and murder.”

Under the deal reached on Wednesday, 33 of the 100 people remaining in Gaza are to be released over the next six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The Israeli army has withdrawn in many areas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been able to return to their remaining homes, and there has been humanitarian aid.

The rest of the hostages, including the male soldiers, must be freed again – and more difficult – the part that will be discussed during the first time. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a long-term ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israel, while Israel has vowed to continue fighting until it ends the group and maintains an open security presence in the region.

US President Donald Trump’s Mideast ambassador-elect has joined them in recent weeks, and outgoing administration officials with Trump’s team are bragging about the success.

Long-term questions about Gaza’s post-war situation remain, including who will govern the region or oversee the difficult reconstruction process.

Israel has been strongly criticized by other countries, including its close ally, the United States, for the civilian population in Gaza. It also blames Hamas for civilian casualties, accusing it of using schools, hospitals and residential areas as weapons.

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The terrorist group Hamas, which does not accept the existence of the state of Israel, has faced serious problems for occupying the cities and towns of Gaza and occupying the border between Gaza and Egypt. Its top leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to have supported the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, have been killed.

But its fighters have regrouped in other hard-hit areas after the withdrawal of Israeli forces, raising the prospect of a long-term insurgency if the conflict continues.

Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press reporter Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed.