CNN
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The Israeli government approved a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas, paving the way for the deal to take effect on Sunday and potentially opening a new chapter in a bloody 15-month conflict that set the Middle East on fire.
The 33-member government deliberated for more than seven hours Saturday morning before greenlighting the deal, according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. There were 24 votes in favor of the deal and eight against, an Israeli official told CNN, with Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi abstaining.
Approved earlier by Israel’s smaller security cabinet after being rejected by negotiators in Doha, the deal will end fighting in Gaza and lead to the release of dozens of Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
It also provides aid workers with much-needed commuting humanitarian aid in this battered enclave, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are dying of hunger, according to the United Nations, and where living conditions are disastrous.
Sunday’s ceasefire will come into effect at 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET), Israel announced.
It will be the second ceasefire since the war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched an attack on Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages, according to the Israeli authorities. The military offensive launched by Israel in response has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians and injured more than 110,000 in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its figures.
Although Israel’s Supreme Court will still hear appeals from Israelis opposing the release of Palestinian prisoners scheduled for release, this process should not delay the start of the ceasefire.
The agreement has three phases. The first, which should last six weeks, will see the release of 33 Israeli hostages and 735 Palestinian prisoners. Foreign hostages, including Americans, should be released in addition to the 33 Israeli hostages, a close source told CNN on Friday.
Three female Israeli civilian hostages held in Gaza are expected to be released on the first day, according to two US officials. Ninety-five Palestinian prisoners are expected to be released after 4 p.m. local time on Sunday, the Israeli Justice Ministry announced.
Hamas and its allies still hold 94 people kidnapped from Israel 15 months ago. At least 34 of them died, according to the Israeli government, although the real number is expected to be higher.
All but ten of the 94 hostages are Israeli or have dual nationality, while eight are from Thailand, one from Nepal and one from Tanzania, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office.
Negotiations for the second and third phases of the ceasefire will begin on the 16th day of the agreement’s implementation, according to an Israeli official.
A joint operations room will be established in Cairo to monitor the implementation of the agreement and will include representatives from Egypt, Qatar, the United States, Israel and Palestinian officials, according to Egyptian newspaper Al Qahera News, citing a senior Egyptian official. .
Under the deal, humanitarian aid to Gaza will increase by up to 600 trucks per day, a significant increase from the 614 aid trucks that entered Gaza in the first two weeks of January, according to Bureau data of the United Nations for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Hundreds of humanitarian trucks carrying food, clothing, medical supplies and other relief materials are lined up at the Rafah border crossing in anticipation of the deal taking effect on Sunday, Al Qahera News reported. The trucks came from various parts of Egypt’s North Sinai region, and some had been waiting for months, the media outlet said.
However, the United Nations warned on Thursday that the increase in aid would be “only the beginning” in tackling the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
The breakthrough in talks has sparked new — if cautious — hope among the families of Israeli hostages still stuck in Gaza, many of whom do not know whether their loved ones are dead or alive.
“No one knows for sure the fate of their loved one,” Sharone Lifschitz, whose father has been held hostage in Gaza since October 7, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “If he stayed alive, it’s a wonderful miracle.”
The start of the ceasefire on Sunday will be a respite for Gazans who have endured 15 months of relentless Israeli strikes, which reduced much of the enclave to rubble.
Scenes of jubilation erupted in Gaza shortly after mediator Qatar announced on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement, although Israeli bombing has intensified since then.
Israeli strikes have killed more than 122 people since the ceasefire agreement was announced, including 33 children, according to Gaza Civil Defense.
The first ceasefire, in November 2023, lasted about a week. During this period, 105 hostages held by Hamas – mainly women, children and the elderly – were released, while Israel released around 240 Palestinian prisoners from its prisons.
Netanyahu faced major political fallout ahead of the cabinet meeting to approve the deal, with two far-right parties threatening to leave the government if the deal was reached – a move that could see the prime minister lose his majority in the Knesset, or Parliament. .
Netanyahu told his security cabinet on Friday that he had received “guarantees” from negotiators that the United States would support a return to war if future negotiations with Hamas failed, a source familiar with the matter told CNN .
