Israel delayed a Cabinet vote on Thursday on the long-awaited ceasefire deal that would pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of hostages.
Israeli airstrikes, meanwhile, killed at least 72 people in the war-ravaged territory.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed a last-minute dispute with Hamas for holding up the approval as rising tensions in Mr Netanyahu’s government coalition raised concerns about the implementation of the deal just a day after US President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar announced it was complete.
That created a dual reality: War-weary Palestinians in Gaza, the relatives of hostages held in the enclave and world leaders all welcomed the result of months of painstaking diplomacy, even as Mr Netanyahu postponed the Cabinet vote on the agreement that had been scheduled for Thursday until Friday, at the earliest.
“Hamas is backing out of the understandings and creating a last-minute crisis that prevents a settlement,” Mr Netanyahu’s office said.
In a briefing on Thursday, David Mencer, an Israeli government spokesman, said Hamas’ new demands dealt with the deployment of Israeli forces in the Philadelphi corridor, the narrow strip bordering Egypt that Israeli troops seized in May.
Hamas denied the claims, with Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, saying the militant group “is committed to the ceasefire agreement, which was announced by the mediators”.
The ceasefire agreement has drawn fierce resistance from Mr Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners, on whose support the Israeli prime minister depends to remain in power.
On Thursday, Israel’s hardline national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, threatened to quit the government if Israel approves the ceasefire.
The deal announced on Wednesday would see scores of hostages held in Gaza released and a pause in fighting with a view to eventually wind down a 15-month war that has destabilised the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.
Hamas triggered the war with its October 7 2023 cross-border attack into Israel that killed some 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.
Israel responded with a devastating offensive that has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.
The military campaign has levelled vast swaths of Gaza, and pushed about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes.
Hundreds of thousands are struggling with hunger and disease in squalid tent camps on the coast.
