TEL AVIV, Israel – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that a last-minute dispute with Hamas was holding up Israeli approval of a long-awaited ceasefire 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. The delay raised concerns about the implementation of the deal, scheduled to go into effect on Sunday, shortly after U.S. 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 Netanyahu said it was not yet finalized. “Hamas is backing out of the understandings and creating a last-minute crisis that prevents a settlement,” Netanyahu’s office said. It was not immediately clear if the deal was in jeopardy, or whether Netanyahu’s statement merely reflected jockeying to keep his fractious coalition together. Although the Israeli Cabinet had been set to vote on the deal Thursday, Netanyahu’s office said it would not convene until Hamas backs down, accusing the Palestinian militant group of reneging on parts of the agreement in an attempt to gain further concessions — without specifying which parts. In a briefing 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 that borders Egypt and which Israeli troops seized in May. Mencer said Netanyahu “strongly insisted” late Wednesday that Hamas drop its 11th-hour request. An Israeli troop presence in the sensitive zone, long one of the main sticking points in negotiations, was “crucial to stop weapons smuggling” he said. “We hope that the details will be finalized,” he said. A U.S. official with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed that Hamas made a last-minute revision relating to the distance that Israeli forces would withdraw from at least one largely populated area in Gaza, without identifying it. The issue is expected to be resolved quickly and enable the ceasefire to begin as planned this weekend, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. 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 deal announced 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 destabilized the Middle East and sparked worldwide protests. Hamas triggered the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack into Israel that killed some 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. Israel responded with a fierce offensive that has killed over 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 leveled vast swaths of Gaza, and pushed around 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.