Israel security cabinet approves Gaza ceasefire, hostage release
Israel’s security cabinet approves Gaza cease-fire and hostage release agreement on Friday, after Israeli and Hamas negotiators resolved their remaining disputes over a deal that is seen as a chance to end 15 months of war

Israel’s security cabinet approved a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release agreement on Friday, after Israeli and Hamas negotiators resolved their remaining disputes over a deal that is seen as a chance to end 15 months of war.
The vote had originally been expected on Thursday, but it was held up amid last-minute conflicts between Israel and Hamas, as well as widening rifts over the agreement inside the governing coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hamas said on Friday that there were no longer any barriers to the agreement.
Now that the security cabinet, a small forum of senior ministers, has approved the deal, the full cabinet of more than 30 ministers will meet later on Friday and is expected to green-light it.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said on Thursday that he was confident the agreement would go into effect as planned on Sunday. Qatar and Egypt mediated the cease-fire deal alongside the Biden and incoming Trump administrations.
Under the agreement, both sides will begin the cease-fire with a six-week truce during which Israeli forces will withdraw eastward, away from populated areas. Hamas will free some 33 hostages, mostly women and older people, most of whom were abducted during the group’s 2023 attack on Israel that prompted the war.
Israel will also release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including some serving long sentences for attacks on Israelis. After the Israeli government signs off on the deal, Israeli civilians will have a short window to file objections, but the courts are widely expected to allow the agreement to go forward.