The deal will now go to the full cabinet for approval before the ceasefire goes into effect. The prime minister’s office said that if a deal is passed, the ceasefire could start Sunday with the first hostages released.
The security cabinet meeting came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said there were last minute snags in finalizing the ceasefire agreement. Israel had delayed a security cabinet vote Thursday, blaming the dispute with Hamas for holding up approval. However, a pre-dawn statement cleared the way for the deal to be voted on.
Under the deal, expected to begin Sunday, 33 hostages are set to be released over the next six weeks, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian terrorists imprisoned by Israel. The remainder, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.
The Israeli-Hamas war began on October 7, 2023 when Hamas terrorists stormed into southern Israel and massacred more than 1200 Israeli men, women and children and also took at least 250 hostages.
