Israeli security cabinet approves Gaza ceasefire deal | Israel-Gaza War

Israel’s security cabinet ratified a ceasefire agreement to exchange dozens of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinians in Israeli prisons and suspend the 15-month war in Gaza for an initial period of six weeks.

The approval came after an unexpected delay that raised fears that last-minute disagreements between Israel and Hamas could derail the deal. Far-right members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government have also threatened to derail months of work aimed at ending the conflict.

The agreement will now be submitted to the full cabinet for final approval so that the agreement can be implemented on Sunday with the release of the first hostages and prisoners.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog welcomed the security cabinet’s decision to approve the deal and said he hoped “the government would do so soon as well.” “This is an essential step on the path to fulfilling a nation’s fundamental commitment to its citizens,” he said.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Netanyahu’s hardline national security minister, who announced Thursday he would leave the government if it ratified the ceasefire deal, made a last-minute appeal to others members of the government to vote against the agreement. “Everyone knows that these terrorists will try to harm again, to kill again,” he said in a video statement.

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According to Israeli media, Ben-Gvir and far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich voted against the deal, while the other ministers voted for it.

The Israeli High Court is still expected to hear petitions against elements of the deal, but is widely expected not to intervene.

As part of the first phase of the deal, which is expected to last 42 days, Hamas agreed to release 33 hostages, including children, women, including female soldiers, and men aged over 50. In exchange, Israel would release 50 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli woman. soldier released by Hamas, and 30 for other female hostages.

Israel said the names of the hostages would only be made public after they were handed over to the Israeli military. A list containing the names of those who will be released over the next six weeks has been circulating on major Israeli news sites since the early hours of Friday morning.

French President Emmanuel Macron said French-Israeli citizens Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi were among the first group of hostages to be freed.

Outings will be staggered. Three Israeli hostages are expected to be released on Sunday, followed by four more on the seventh day, and again at the end of each week of ceasefire.

On Friday, Israel’s Justice Ministry released a partial list of 95 prisoners who will be released under the first phase of the deal.

It includes Palestinian MP and feminist lawmaker Khalida Jarrar, 61, a prominent figure in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization, who was arrested by the Israeli army on December 26 and who was arrested by the Israeli army on December 26. since then he has been detained without trial.

A Palestinian minor detained in connection with a shooting in Jerusalem’s City of David neighborhoods in 2023 that injured an Israeli soldier will also be released.

According to a copy of the deal seen by the Guardian, nine sick and injured Israelis will be released in exchange for 110 Palestinians serving life sentences in Israeli prisons. Men over 50 on the list of 33 hostages will be released in exchange for prisoners serving life sentences at a ratio of 1:3 and 1:27 for other sentences.

Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, two mentally ill Israelis who entered Gaza ten years ago and have since been held hostage by Hamas, will be released in exchange for 30 prisoners. Another 47 prisoners, re-arrested after being released as part of a 2011 deal that brought Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit back from Gaza, will also be released.

The agreement will also initially allow Palestinians displaced from their homes to move freely within the Gaza Strip, which Israel has cut in two with a military corridor. The injured are expected to be evacuated for treatment abroad, and aid to the territory is expected to increase to 600 trucks per day, above the minimum of 500 that aid agencies say is needed to contain the devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

In the second phase, the remaining hostages would be returned and a corresponding number of Palestinian prisoners would be released, and Israel would withdraw completely from the territory. The details are subject to further negotiations, which are expected to begin 16 days after the start of the first phase.

The third phase would involve the exchange of bodies of deceased hostages and Hamas members, and a reconstruction plan for Gaza would be launched. The modalities of the future governance of the band remain unclear. The Biden administration and much of the international community have advocated for the semi-autonomous West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, which lost control of Gaza to Hamas during a brief civil war in 2007, to return to the band. Israel, however, has repeatedly rejected this suggestion.

Dozens of hostage relatives signed a letter calling on Netanyahu to commit that “all stages of the agreement will be carried out until the return of the last hostage.”

G7 leaders welcomed the approval, describing it as a significant development.

“As a ceasefire is about to be established, it is also crucial that we seize this opportunity to end the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza,” a statement said. “We reaffirm our support for a credible path to peace leading to a two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians live side by side in peace, dignity and security. »

Israeli negotiators are due to arrive in Cairo on Friday evening to discuss logistical coordination of the deal.

Israeli military planes continued their intense strikes on Gaza until Thursday evening. Palestinian authorities said at least 86 people were killed the day after the truce was announced. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Thursday evening that they had attacked around 50 targets across the Gaza Strip in 24 hours.

In more than 15 months of war, more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed and most of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed. The International Court of Justice is investigating allegations that Israel committed genocide.

Around 1,200 people in Israel were killed and another 250 taken hostage in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war. Around 100 hostages were released in exchange for 240 women and children held in Israeli prisons following a ceasefire deal reached in November 2023, which collapsed after a week.