Israeli Vote on Cease-Fire Is Delayed as Diplomats Work on Details

Negotiators raced on Thursday to resolve last-minute disputes in a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas that would free hostages and halt the violence that has devastated Gaza over the past 15 months.

The disputes helped delay by at least one day a critical Israeli vote to approve the deal.

Even though negotiators for Israel and Hamas reached a provisional agreement on Wednesday, they continued to discuss outstanding issues through mediators. The Israeli cabinet, whose approval is needed to move the cease-fire ahead, had been expected to vote on it on Thursday, but the vote was postponed.

The deal has reopened deep divides in Israel, where hard-line members of the governing coalition vehemently oppose a cease-fire. Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right minister for national security, announced on Thursday night that his party would resign from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition should the cabinet approve the cease-fire deal.

The move threatens to destabilize the government at a critical time but should not, in and of itself, prevent the deal from moving ahead.

The United States, which spent months struggling to broker a deal alongside Qatar and Egypt, downplayed the delay and insisted that the cease-fire would take effect on Sunday as planned.

“I am confident and fully expect implementation will begin,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken told reporters on Thursday. “It’s not exactly surprising that in a process, a negotiation, that has been this challenging — this fraught — we may get a loose end. We’re tying up that loose end as we speak.”