Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet has approved a deal with Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza after more than 460 days of war in which Israeli forces have killed more than 46,788 Palestinians and wounded 110,453.

The deal, which was approved in the early hours of Saturday morning and is expected to take effect from Sunday, involves the exchange of captives held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war will be finalised.

With longstanding divisions apparent among ministers, Israel delayed key meetings of its security cabinet and cabinet, which were supposed to vote on Thursday, blaming Hamas for the hold-up.

Netanyahu’s office had claimed that Hamas reneged on key parts of the agreement to obtain last-minute concessions. But Hamas senior official Izzat al-Risheq insisted that the group remained committed to the ceasefire deal.

Hamas said in a statement earlier on Friday that obstacles that arose in relation to the terms of the Gaza ceasefire agreement had been resolved at dawn that day.

Netanyahu’s office said Hamas would start freeing captives “as early as Sunday” providing the deal was given a go-ahead by the Israeli cabinet.

The ceasefire agreement was announced by mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States on Wednesday. The deal outlines a six-week initial ceasefire, the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from many areas of Gaza and a surge in humanitarian aid.

[Aljazeera]

By Nimal Gunathilake

Agricultural experts have expressed concern about the government’s decision to release rice stocks purchased and stored at lower prices to the market as such action could lead to a significant drop in rice prices during the 2024/25 Maha harvesting season.

Professor Buddhi Marambe, from the Department of Crop Science at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, has criticised the move, noting the government’s earlier claims that previous administrations had failed to store even a grain of rice. He expressed surprise that tenders had been called to sell 119,000 metric tonnes of Keeri Samba rice under such circumstances.

Prof. Marambe has warned that the release of rice at reduced prices will allow mill owners, traders, intermediaries to suppress rice prices during the Maha season. He has pointed out that the extent of damage to rice cultivation caused by heavy rains and flooding has not been fully assessed.

Professor Marambe has highlighted that an accurate evaluation of the damage to rice cultivation is still pending, but it is estimated that at least 50,000 hectares of farmland have been affected. As a result, he projected that Sri Lanka could lose between 250,000 and 360,000 metric tonnes of rice.

The government has acknowledged a rice shortage and imported over 170,000 metric tonnes of rice through public and private sector collaboration. However, a solution to the scarcity of Rathu Kekulu rice has yet to be identified.

There are some tea estates where the workers do not have access to clean drinking water, National People’s Power (NPP) MP Kitnan Selvaraj has said.

He said that instead of addressing the common issues faced by the estate workers, regional political parties have been distributing local and foreign aid and assistance among their political supporters.

“Everyone knows that several foreign countries and multilateral organisations provide aid to the estates. When it comes to housing for example, instead of choosing those who are most needy, they have chosen their henchmen,” he said.

Moreover, leaders of regional political parties have occupied some bungalows in state owned estates. “We have removed some of them already, and we will get rid of all of them soon,” he said.

Selvaraj said the NPP is discussing what future housing for estate workers should look like. “We have not come to a decision yet. However, I think that if we can build vertically, we can save space and keep building for future generations. We don’t necessarily have to hold on to the earlier way of life, or living, for estate workers,” he said.