CNN
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The Israeli government has approved a cease-fire and hostage release agreement with Hamas, clearing the way for the agreement to take effect on Sunday and potentially beginning a new chapter in the bloody 15-month conflict that has inflamed the Middle East.
The 33-member cabinet deliberated for more than seven hours into the early hours of Saturday and gave the green light to the deal, according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. Israeli officials told CNN that the deal had 24 votes in favor and eight votes against, with Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi abstaining.
The deal, which was earlier approved by Israel’s small security cabinet after being rejected by negotiators in Doha, suspends fighting in Gaza and frees dozens of Israeli hostages. and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners of war.
It also provides humanitarian workers with an opportunity to bring much-needed aid to the devastated enclave, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are starving and living conditions are dire.
Qatari Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majid Al Ansari said in a statement on X that Sunday’s ceasefire will come into effect at 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. Eastern time). Qatar was one of the key facilitators in brokering the agreement.
Israeli officials say the ceasefire is the second since the war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched attacks on Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. becomes. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 110,000 injured in the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its statistics.
Israel’s Supreme Court will continue to hear Israeli appeals against the freedom of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for release, but the process is not expected to delay the start of the ceasefire.
This transaction has three phases. The first step is expected to last six weeks and will see the release of 33 Israeli hostages and 735 Palestinian prisoners. Sources told CNN on Friday that in addition to the 33 Israeli hostages, foreign hostages, including Americans, are expected to be released.
Three Israeli female hostages held in Gaza are expected to be released on the first day of the war, two U.S. officials said. The Israeli Ministry of Justice announced that 95 Palestinian prisoners are scheduled to be released after 4pm local time on Sunday.
Hamas and its allies still hold 94 people who were taken from Israel 15 months ago. The Israeli government says at least 34 of them have died, but the actual number is expected to be higher.
According to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, all but 10 of the 94 hostages are Israeli or have dual citizenship, with eight from Thailand, one from Nepal and one from Tanzania.
According to Israeli officials, negotiations for the second and third phases of the ceasefire will begin on the 16th day of implementation of the agreement.
A joint operations room has been established in Cairo to monitor the implementation of the agreement, with representatives from Egypt, Qatar, the United States, Israel and Palestinian officials participating, Egypt’s state-run Al-Kahera News reported, citing a senior Egyptian official. He plans to do so. .
Under the agreement, humanitarian aid to Gaza will be increased to 600 trucks per day, a significant increase from the 614 trucks that entered Gaza in the first two weeks of January, according to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination. . Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Hundreds of aid trucks loaded with food, clothing, medical supplies and other relief supplies are lining up at the Rafah border crossing in anticipation of the deal taking effect on Sunday, Al-Kahela News reported. Media reports say the trucks are coming from different parts of Egypt’s North Sinai region, and some have been waiting for months.
But the United Nations warned Thursday that increasing aid allocations is “just the beginning” of addressing the enclave’s devastating humanitarian crisis.
The progress in dialogue has sparked new but cautious hope among the families of Israeli hostages still trapped in Gaza. Many of them do not know whether their relatives are alive or dead.
“No one knows for sure the fate of their loved ones,” Sharone Lifshitz, a father held hostage in Gaza since October 7, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “If he was alive, it would be a great miracle.”
The start of a ceasefire on Sunday will be a reprieve for Gazans, who have endured 15 months of relentless Israeli attacks that have reduced much of the enclave to rubble.
There were scenes of jubilation across Gaza shortly after mediator Qatar announced on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had reached a deal, but Israeli shelling has intensified in the days since.
According to the Gaza Civil Defense Agency, more than 120 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since the ceasefire was announced, including 30 children.
The first ceasefire, which took place in November 2023, lasted about a week. During this time, 105 hostages held by Hamas (mainly women, children, and elderly people) were freed, and Israel released approximately 240 Palestinian prisoners from prison.
Prime Minister Netanyahu faces major political fallout ahead of a cabinet meeting to approve the deal, with two far-right parties threatening to resign from government if the deal is signed, a move that could see the prime minister lose his majority in the Knesset or parliament. There is a possibility. .
Prime Minister Netanyahu told the Security Cabinet on Friday that he had received “assurances” from negotiators that the United States would support a return to war if future talks with Hamas fail, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. told.
