Middle East latest: Netanyahu says Cabinet won't meet over ceasefire until Hamas drops new demands

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday his Cabinet won’t meet to approve the agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages until Hamas backs down from what it called a “last minute crisis.”

Netanyahu’s office accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement in an attempt “to extort last minute concessions.” It did not elaborate.

The Israeli Cabinet was set to ratify the deal Thursday.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 48 people over the past day. In previous conflicts, both sides have stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires go into effect as a way to project strength.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said the 48 bodies of people killed since midday Wednesday were brought to several hospitals. Around half of the dead were women and children, Zaher al-Wahedi, head of the ministry’s registration department, told The Associated Press.

Thirty-three hostages are set to be released over the next six weeks in the ceasefire deal reached on Wednesday. The remainder, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 46,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry. It does not say how many of the dead were militants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

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Here's the latest:

Iran-backed militia will suspend operations against Israel, its leader says

Baghdad — The leader of the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Harakat al-Nujaba, Akram al-Kaabi, announced Thursday the suspension of the group’s operations against Israel following the declaration of a Gaza ceasefire agreement but warned they could start again if there were violations of the truce.

In a statement, al-Kaabi congratulated the Palestinian people and “freedom-loving” individuals worldwide on “this important development.”

“We will suspend our military operations against (Israel) in solidarity with the halt of operations in Palestine and to support the continuation of the ceasefire in Gaza, but let the occupying entity know that any foolishness from them in Palestine or the region will be met with a harsh response,” he added.

Al-Kaabi said the group's missiles and drones “remain on permanent standby.”

During the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Iraqi militias launched a series of drone attacks targeting U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq as well as sites in Israel.

Syria's foreign minister calls for lifting of sanctions

ANKARA, Turkey — Syria’s new foreign minister has called for a lifting of sanctions that were imposed on his country during former President Bashar Assad’s rule.

In an interview with Turkish state broadcaster TRT that aired Thursday, Asaad al-Shibani also said Syria’s new leadership wanted to “open a new page” in its diplomatic relations with countries that had cut diplomatic ties with Damascus during the Syrian civil war.

“The economic sanctions are one of the problems that the old regime left us,” al-Shibani said in the interview, which aired a day after he met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish officials in Ankara. “We are saying that there is no longer any need for them. The old regime is gone.”

“These sanctions must be lifted in order for people to live in better economic conditions and for security and economic stability to be achieved,” he added.

Indonesia calls for the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state as it welcomes the ceasefire

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has welcomed the ceasefire and called for its immediate implementation, along with the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state.

“Peace in Palestine cannot be achieved without the end of Israel’s occupation and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, in accordance with the two-state solution based on agreed international parameters,” it said in a statement on Thursday.

Muslim-majority Indonesia has long been a strong supporter of Palestinians.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard says ceasefire is a ‘great victory’ for Hamas

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has applauded the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and called it a “great victory” for Hamas and the resistance front.

“This great victory, like the ‘al-Aqsa storm,’ which was a multifaceted and irreparable defeat for the Zionists, did not bring any gains for the Zionist regime, and the resistance remained alive, thriving and strong,” the Guard said in a statement on Thursday, referring to the Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack that sparked the war.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei later said in a post on social platform X that the patience of the resistance front forced Israel to retreat.

“It will be written in books that there was a mob who once killed thousands of children & women in Gaza! Everyone will realize it was the patience of the people & steadfastness of Palestinian Resistance & Resistance Front that forced Zionist regime to retreat,” he wrote in a post on the social platform X on Thursday.

Pakistan hails ceasefire but criticizes Israel for ‘unprecedented loss of lives’

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that Islamabad welcomes the ceasefire deal reached between Israel and Hamas and calls for its immediate and full implementation.

“Indiscriminate use of force by Israeli occupation forces has caused unprecedented loss of lives and property and displacement of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilian Palestinians. Israel’s expansionist designs have destabilized the entire region,” the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

It added that Pakistan hopes the truce will lead to a permanent ceasefire and help scale up humanitarian assistance.

Japan and South Korea welcome Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza

TOKYO — Japan and South Korea have separately welcomed the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza as a key step toward improving humanitarian conditions and calming the situation in the territory.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, speaking to reporters in Tokyo on Thursday, urged Israel and Hamas to implement the agreement “sincerely and steadily” and he praised the United States, Egypt and Qatar for their work to achieve the deal.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, called for a “thorough and swift implementation” of the agreement so that “all hostages are released and the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip improves.”