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Israel delays vote to approve Gaza ceasefire deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed a cabinet vote to approve the Gaza ceasefire deal, due on Thursday, accusing Hamas of seeking last-minute changes to the agreement.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a “loose end” was being tied up and that he was confident the ceasefire would still begin on Sunday as planned.
Although Israeli negotiators agreed to the deal after months of talks, it cannot be implemented until it is approved by the security cabinet and government.
Hamas said it was committed to the deal, but the BBC understands it was trying to add some of its members to the list of Palestinian prisoners that would be released under the deal.
The delay came after Israeli strikes in Gaza following Wednesday’s announcement of a deal killed more than 80 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
A few hours before the Thursday morning meeting was due, Netanyahu accused Hamas of trying to “extort last minute concessions”.
The cabinet would not convene until Hamas accepted “all elements of the agreement,” a statement from his office read.
Blinken said such a delay was to be expected in such a “challenging” situation. “It’s not exactly surprising that in a process and negotiation that has been this challenging and this fraught, you may get a loose end,” he told a press conference in Washington. “We’re tying up that loose end as we speak.”
He said the US was “confident” the deal would come into force on Sunday as planned, and that the ceasefire would then persist.
Israeli media reported that the cabinet was expected to meet on Friday to approve the deal and that the alleged issue had been resolved, although this was not officially confirmed.
A majority of Israeli ministers are expected to back the deal, but late on Thursday Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said his right-wing party would quit Netanyahu’s government if it was approved.
“The deal that is taking shape is a reckless deal,” Ben-Gvir told a news conference, adding it would “erase the achievements of the war”.
However, he said his Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party would not seek to topple the government should the deal be ratified.
He urged the leader of the other far-right party in government, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of the Religious Zionist party, to join him in resigning.
Ohad Tal, the party’s chair in Israel’s parliament, told BBC that it was “debating” whether to leave Netanyahu’s government over the deal.
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official told the BBC that the group was committed to the agreement announced by the mediators.
The head of Hamas’s delegation, Khalil al-Hayya, officially informed Qatar and Egypt of its approval of all the terms of the agreement, the official told the BBC.
But BBC Gaza correspondent Rushdi Abualouf understands that Hamas was attempting to add the names of one or two symbolic members to the list of prisoners that would be released under the deal.
The first six-week phase of the deal would see 33 hostages – including women, children and elderly people – exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Israeli troops would also withdraw to the east, away from densely populated areas of Gaza.
Displaced Palestinians would be able to start returning to their homes and hundreds of aid lorries would be allowed entry to the territory each day.
Negotiations for the second phase – which should see the remaining hostages released, a full Israeli troop withdrawal and a return to “sustainable calm” – would start on the 16th day.
The third and final stage would involve the return of any remaining hostages’ bodies and the reconstruction of Gaza – something which could take years.
Israeli air strikes continued after the deal was announced on Wednesday. At least 12 people were killed in Gaza City, where a doctor told the BBC staff “did not rest for one minute” during the “bloody night”.
Strikes were carried out on 50 targets in Gaza since the deal’s announcement, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Security Agency said in a statement.
The prime minister of Qatar – which mediated negotiations – called for “calm” on both sides before the start of the first six-week phase of the ceasefire deal.
Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas – which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and others – in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
More than 46,788 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population has also been displaced, there is widespread destruction and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter, while aid agencies struggle to get help to those in need.
Israel says 94 of the hostages are still being held by Hamas, 34 of whom are presumed dead. There are four Israelis who were abducted before the war, two of whom are dead.
[BBC]
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Heat Index at Caution Level in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and Monaragala district
Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology at 3.30 p.m. on 10 March 2026, valid for 11 March 2026.
The public are warned that the Heat index, the temperature felt on the human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at
some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Monaragala district.
The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.
Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.
ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.
Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard.
For further clarifications please contact 011-744649
Much of the centre of the German city of Dresden will be evacuated on Wednesday, after the discovery of a large unexploded British World War Two flying bomb.
The 250kg (551lb) device was discovered near the former Carola Bridge, which collapsed in the Elbe River in 2024.
The fire brigade in Dresden says this is the city’s largest evacuation to date for such an incident, affecting around 18,000 residents, tourists and commuters.
Much of the old town will be cordoned off by 09:00 (08:00 GMT), including some of the city’s most famous buildings – the iconic Frauenkirche Lutheran church, the Residenzschloss Palace and the Semper Opera.
The police headquarters, Saxony’s state parliament, several ministries, retirement and nursing homes, daycare centres and other social institutions are also located in the evacuated area.
The authorities are providing emergency accommodation at the Dresden Exhibition Centre from 07:00 (06:00 GMT), while additional buses and trams will be running to this location.
It is not clear how long it will take to defuse the bomb.
Dresden was attacked by British aircraft on 13 February 1945. In the days that followed, the British and their US allies dropped nearly 4,000 tons of bombs in the assault on the city.
The ensuing firestorm killed 25,000 people and ravaged the city centre, once known as the Jewel Box because of its Baroque and Rococo architecture.
Four other bombs were found during demolition work on the Carola Bridge last year.
(BBC)
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the President to appoint the Committee on Economic Surveillance headed by the Minister of Labour, Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando as the Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning and comprised of the relevant heads of the Institutions and eminencies in the field to provide recommendations to the Cabinet of Ministers on the essential policy precautions to be taken by constantly supervising the impact that can affect Sri Lankan economy due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Heat Index at Caution Level in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and Monaragala district
Large parts of Dresden to be evacuated after 250kg WW2 bomb found
Cabinet approves 14 day Visa extension
Sunil Galagama appointed as District Secretary Badulla
Anupama Mangala Wickramaarachchi appointed District Secretary Ampara
Committee on Economic Surveillance to be established
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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