ReutersIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said an “agreement to release the hostages” had been reached.
Netanyahu had delayed a cabinet vote to approve the Gaza ceasefire deal, scheduled for Thursday, accusing Hamas of seeking to make last-minute changes to the deal.
On Friday morning, his office said Netanyahu had been informed by the negotiating team that agreements on the deal had been reached.
He ordered that the political and security cabinet meet later Friday and that the government “will then meet to approve the deal,” Netanyahu’s office said. The families of the hostages have been informed, the press release added.
Representatives of Israel, Hamas, the United States and Qatar officially signed the agreement in Doha, Israeli media report.
The ceasefire agreement was first announced on Wednesday by the mediators of the United States and Qatar.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said the agreement would come into force on Sunday, pending approval from the Israeli cabinet.
At the time, Netanyahu said the final details of the deal were still being worked out, but he thanked Biden for “promoting” it.
Netanyahu then delayed Thursday’s cabinet vote to approve the deal, accusing Hamas of trying to “extort last-minute concessions.”
Hamas said it was committed to the deal, but the BBC understands it was trying to add some of its members to the list of Palestinian prisoners who would be released under the deal.
Although Israeli negotiators accepted the deal, which followed months of negotiations, it cannot be implemented until it is approved by the security cabinet and the government.
Many families of Palestinian and Israeli hostages celebrated the news of the ceasefire.
But the war on the ground in Gaza has not stopped.with Israeli strikes killing more than 80 people since the deal was announced, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.
Strikes have been carried out on 50 targets in Gaza since the deal was announced, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency announced Thursday.
EPAThe first phase of the deal, lasting six weeks, would see the exchange of 33 hostages – including women, children and the elderly – for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Israeli troops would also withdraw eastward, away from the densely populated areas of Gaza.
Displaced Palestinians could begin returning home and hundreds of humanitarian trucks would be allowed to enter the territory each day.
Negotiations for the second phase – which should see the release of the remaining hostages, a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops and a return to “lasting calm” – would begin on the 16th day.
The third and final step would involve returning the bodies of the remaining hostages and rebuilding Gaza – which could take years.
Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas – which is banned as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and others – in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were killed. taken hostage.
Since then, more than 46,788 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have also been displaced, destruction is widespread and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter, while humanitarian agencies struggle to provide supplies. help to those who need it.
Israel says 94 of the hostages are still held by Hamas, 34 of whom are presumed dead. Four Israelis were kidnapped before the war, two of whom died.
