Israeli cabinet ratifies ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas

The Israeli cabinet agreed to the deal early Friday morning, roughly 24 hours after mediators announced an agreement to free Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, in the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's initiative to end the two-year war in Gaza.

"The government has just now approved the framework for the release of all of the hostages – the living and the deceased," Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's English-language X account said.

The war has deepened Israel's international isolation and upended the Middle East, having evolved into a regional conflict that has drawn in Iran, Yemen and Lebanon. It also tested the U.S.-Israeli relationship, with Trump seeming to lose patience with Netanyahu and pressuring him to reach a deal.

Israelis and Palestinians alike rejoiced after the deal was announced, the biggest step yet to end two years of war in which over 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, and return the last hostages seized by Hamas in the deadly attacks that started it.

Hamas' exiled Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya said he had received guarantees from the United States and other mediators that the war was over.

An Israeli government spokesperson said the ceasefire would go into force within 24 hours of government approval of the deal. After that 24-hour period, the hostages held in Gaza would be freed within 72 hours.

Twenty Israeli hostages are still believed to be alive in Gaza, while 26 are presumed dead, and the fate of two is unknown. Hamas has indicated that recovering the bodies of the dead may take longer than releasing those who are alive.

Under the deal, fighting will cease, Israel will partially withdraw from Gaza and Hamas will free all remaining hostages in exchange for hundreds of prisoners held by Israel.

Fleets of trucks carrying food and medical aid would be allowed to surge into Gaza to relieve civilians, hundreds of thousands of whom have been sheltering in tents after Israeli forces destroyed their homes and razed entire cities to dust.

HURDLES REMAIN

The accord, if fully implemented, would bring the two sides closer than any previous effort to halt the war.

Much could still go wrong. Even after the deal was signed, a Palestinian source said the list of Palestinians to be released was not finalised. The group is seeking freedom for some of the most prominent Palestinian convicts held in Israeli jails, as well as hundreds of people detained during Israel's assault.

Further steps in Trump's 20-point plan have yet to be discussed. Those include how the shattered Gaza Strip is to be ruled when the fighting ends and the ultimate fate of Hamas, which has so far rejected Israel's demands it disarm.

Netanyahu also faces skepticism from within his governing coalition. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would vote to bring down the government if Hamas is not dismantled. He also said he would vote against the deal, as expected. Far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition have long opposed any deal with Hamas. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Hamas must be destroyed once the hostages are returned.

But the announcement of an end to fighting and return of hostages was greeted with jubilation.

'ALL OF THE GAZA STRIP IS HAPPY'

"Thank God for the ceasefire, the end of bloodshed and killing," said Abdul Majeed Abd Rabbo in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. "All of the Gaza Strip is happy, all the Arab people, all of the world is happy with the ceasefire and the end of bloodshed."

Einav Zaugauker, whose son Matan is one of the last hostages, rejoiced in Tel Aviv's so-called Hostages Square, where families of those seized in the Hamas attack that triggered the war two years ago have long assembled.

"I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't explain what I'm feeling ... it's crazy," she said, speaking in the red glow of a celebratory flare.

In Gaza, Israeli attacks continued before the official start of the ceasefire, but there were far fewer fatalities than the scores killed on a daily basis in recent weeks. Local health authorities reported seven dead in two separate Israeli strikes.

There were signs on the ground of Israeli troops preparing to pull back. An eyewitness near Nusseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip told Reuters that he had seen the Israeli army blow up an abandoned troop position and lower a crane used to surveil the area.

Near the Netzarim corridor, the main staging area for Israeli troops in central Gaza, the army fired dozens of smoke grenades, typically used to provide cover for troops on the move.

TRUMP HEADS TO REGION

Trump said he would head to the region on Sunday to possibly attend a signing ceremony in Egypt, and Israeli Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana invited him to address the legislative body, which would be the first such speech by a U.S. president since 2008. Trump said he hoped the deal would lead to "an everlasting peace" in the region.

The deal received support from Arab and Western countries and was widely portrayed as a major diplomatic achievement for Trump, who cast it as a first step towards reconciliation in the wider Middle East. His special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem and entered the Israeli government cabinet meeting that was called to ratify the deal.

Successful completion of the deal would mark a significant accomplishment for the Republican president, who has struggled to quickly deliver on his promises to bring peace to the Gaza conflict and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Western and Arab countries met in Paris to discuss an international peacekeeping force and reconstruction assistance for Gaza once the fighting stops.

More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters stormed through Israeli towns and a music festival on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages.