HAMAS accused Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today of seeking to “blow up” the ceasefire agreement even before the fledgling deal had a chance to get off the ground.

This followed an agreement reached by the two sides to pause fighting in Gaza to free the remaining 20 hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, accepting elements of a plan put forward by the US.

Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said: “It appears that Netanyahu is seeking to blow up the ceasefire agreement before its implementation by backtracking on the prisoner lists in an attempt to sabotage the understandings. 

“This step exposes his intentions regarding the other issues related to the withdrawal, reconstruction, and the reopening of crossings in both directions.”

Announcing the deal on Wednesday, US president Donald Trump posted to social media that the deal between Hamas, its allies and the Israelis means “all of the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a strong, durable, and everlasting peace.”

Mr Netanyahu hailed the deal as “a critical turning point” in the Gaza war.

He said: “With the approval of the first phase of the plan, all our hostages will be brought home. This is a diplomatic success and a national and moral victory for the state of Israel.”

But the deal still needed signing off by the Israeli security cabinet later on Thursday.

Hamas leader Osama Hamdan confirmed to Al-Araby TV that the Israelis are “expected to withdraw from Gaza City, the north, Rafah, and Khan Yunis.

“The first phase will meet the most important demand of the Palestinian people: ending the aggression on the Gaza Strip.

“The agreement includes the opening of five border crossings to allow aid into the Gaza Strip.

The plan also envisages an end to involvement of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in aid distribution and an eventual role for the Palestinian Authority, something Mr Netanyahu opposes. 

But it requires the authority, which administers parts of the West Bank, to undergo a sweeping reform programme that could take years to implement.

The Trump plan is even more vague about a future Palestinian state, which Mr Netanyahu and his far-right coalition have repeatedly rejected.

General secretary of CND Sophie Bolt told the Morning Star: “What is needed now is huge political pressure to ensure Israel actually abides by this ceasefire and withdraws from Gaza.”

Ms Bolt called for the “biggest mobilisation possible” for the latest peace protest on Saturday in central London.

She added: “Instead of continuing to sell arms and give Israel military support, Keir Starmer should be using every political, economic and diplomatic lever at its disposal to help ensure the ceasefire and withdrawal from Gaza are permanent.”

Stop the War convener Lindsey German said: “This peace deal may bring short-term relief to the starving Palestinian people but no-one should be fooled that this is anything approaching a just or lasting peace.”

Ms German also called for maximum support for Saturday’s march.

She said: “Staying in the streets is the best way to continue to fight for an end to the apartheid state, to the genocide and brutality, and to the lack of democracy which will give the Palestinians no real voice.”

Islington North’s Independent MP, Jeremy Corbyn, said the “ceasefire will bring immense relief to survivors of the genocide and to those who have been held captive in Israel and Gaza. 

“This genocide could not have been possible without the political and military support of governments across the world, including our own. In the coming months, we will learn of the true scale of death and destruction and uncover the full scale of our government’s complicity.”

Communist Party international secretary Kevan Nelson pointed out that “serious questions remain about whether the Netanyahu regime will honour the agreement and about the future political governance of Gaza.”

“There should be no role for Tony Blair, whose past term as envoy for the so-called ‘Quartet’ was an abject failure,” he added.

Even with many details yet to be agreed, some Palestinians and Israelis expressed happiness and relief at the significant progress.

“It’s a huge day, huge joy,” Ahmed Sheheiber, a Palestinian displaced man from northern Gaza, said of the ceasefire deal.

He said he was waiting “impatiently” for the ceasefire to go into effect to return to his home in the Jabaliya refugee camp.

Joyful hostage families and their supporters spilled into the central Tel Aviv square.

Einav Zangauker, the mother of Israeli captive Matan Zangauker and a prominent advocate for hostages’ freedom, said: “If I have one dream, it is seeing Matan sleep in his own bed.”

The Israeli Communist Party and Hadash welcomed the deal and praised “the heroic steadfastness of the Palestinian people in Gaza, frustrating the annihilation and deportation plans by the Israeli government, together with the support of the international solidarity movement.”

Palestinian Islamic Jihad said the deal would not have been possible without “the enormous sacrifices made by the Palestinian people, and the courage and bravery of the fighters on the ground.”

Before the deal could come into force Israeli forces continued to strike the Palestinians in Gaza today. At least 10 Palestinians were killed and 49 injured during the attacks, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.

An Israeli military official source said Israel was continuing to hit targets that posed a threat to its troops as they repositioned.

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has opposed previous ceasefire deals, said he welcomed the release of the hostages but his party was set to “vote against the deal,” at today's security cabinet meeting, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority.

Welcoming the ceasefire Vijay Prashad, the director of the Tricontinental Centre for Social Research, described the deal as “just a breath of air for Palestine, not freedom.”

Eugene Puryear, an organiser with the US Party for Socialism and Liberation, told the Morning Star: “Our movements in solidarity with Palestine around the world must not stand down.”

“As long as Israeli apartheid and ethnic cleansing continue, we must continue to struggle,” he added.

Executive editor of Black Agenda Reports Margaret Kimberley said: “Hamas has offered peace agreements and hostage negotiations for the past two years. 

“Israel has thwarted every plan and even killed negotiators.”

Ms Kimberley added: “The onus is on Israel and its main patron, the US, to prove that they should be trusted in any peace process.”