Israel’s cabinet voted to approve a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal on Saturday, the office of PM Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Israeli Government Approves Gaza Ceasefire Deal
Israel’s cabinet voted to approve a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal on Saturday, the office of PM Benjamin Netanyahu said, ending days of uncertainty about whether the truce would go into effect this weekend. The ceasefire, set to begin Sunday, would halt fighting and bombardment in Gaza’s deadliest-ever war. It would also enable the release of hostages held in the territory since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
“The government has approved the hostage return plan”, Netanyahu’s office said early Saturday morning after the cabinet held its vote. The justice ministry published a list of 95 Palestinians to be freed starting Sunday, “subject to government approval”. They include 69 women, 16 men and 10 minors.
Hamas-Israel ceasefire deal
The ceasefire deal will see Hamas release 33 Israeli hostages, including women, children, and men over the age of 50. In exchange, Israel will free all Palestinian women and children under the age of 19 who are currently detained in Israeli prisons. The ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has reduced a large part of the region to rubble, has claimed over 46,000 lives, displaced millions and has drawn in various Middle Eastern factions, including Iran, Hezbollah, and armed groups from Yemen and Iraq.
