ReutersIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said a “deal for the release of the hostages” had been agreed.
Netanyahu postponed a cabinet vote scheduled for Thursday to approve the Gaza ceasefire agreement, accusing Hamas of seeking last-minute changes to the agreement.
On Friday morning, his office said Netanyahu had been informed by his negotiating team that an agreement on a deal had been reached.
He ordered the political and security cabinet to convene later on Friday and the government “will convene thereafter to approve the agreement,” Netanyahu’s office said, adding that the hostages’ families had been notified.
Representatives of Israel, Hamas, the United States and Qatar officially signed the agreement in Doha, according to Israeli media reports.
armistice agreement It was first announced on Wednesday By mediators from the United States and Qatar.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said the agreement would come into effect on Sunday, pending approval by the Israeli cabinet.
At the time, Netanyahu said the final details of the deal were still being worked out but thanked Biden for “promoting” it.
Netanyahu postponed a cabinet vote on Thursday to approve the deal, accusing Hamas of trying to “extort last-minute concessions.”
Hamas has said it is committed to the deal, but the BBC understands it is seeking to add some of its members to the list of Palestinian prisoners to be released under the deal.
Israeli negotiators agreed to the deal after months of talks, but it cannot be implemented until it is approved by the security cabinet and government.
Many Palestinian and Israeli hostage families celebrated the news of the ceasefire.
But the war in Gaza did not rest.The Hamas-run health ministry said more than 80 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since the deal was announced.
The Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Security Service said Thursday that strikes had been carried out against 50 targets in the Gaza Strip since the announcement of the agreement.
EPAIn the first six-week phase of the deal, 33 hostages, including women, children and the elderly, will be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
Israeli forces also plan to withdraw to the east, away from the densely populated areas of Gaza.
Displaced Palestinians will be able to return to their homes, and hundreds of aid trucks will be allowed into the area every day.
The second phase of negotiations for the release of the remaining hostages, the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops, and the return of ‘sustainable stability’ is scheduled to begin on the 16th.
The third and final phase involves repatriating the bodies of the remaining hostages and rebuilding the Gaza Strip, which could take years.
On October 7, 2023, Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas, which is banned by Israel, the United States and others as a terrorist organization, in response to unprecedented cross-border attacks against Israel. The attack left approximately 1,200 people dead and 251 injured. Taken hostage.
Since then, more than 46,788 people have died in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced, there has been widespread destruction, there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter, and aid agencies are struggling to reach those in need.
Israel says 94 of the hostages are still held by Hamas, and 34 of them are presumed dead. Four Israelis were kidnapped before the war, two of whom were killed.
