Israel has approved a ceasefire deal for Gaza, which includes the release of all Israeli hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet met into the early hours of Friday morning to ratify the first phase of a peace deal with Hamas, following days of negotiations in Egypt.
“The government has just now approved the framework for the release of all of the hostages – the living and the deceased,” a statement from the prime minister’s office said on X.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said that the ceasefire should begin immediately after government approval.
The Israeli military now has 24 hours to pull back its forces to an agreed-upon line.
The broader ceasefire plan includes many unanswered questions, such as whether and how Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza.
However, the sides appeared closer than they have been in months to ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, reduced much of Gaza to rubble, brought famine to parts of the territory and left dozens of hostages, living and dead, in Gaza.
US President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law and former Middle East adviser, Jared Kushner, addressed the Israeli cabinet as it met to ratify the agreement.
Netanyahu, seated between the two at a large table, thanked them.
“The combined military and diplomatic pressure that isolated Hamas brought us to this point,” he said.
“It’s been long hours,” Netanyahu said in a video released by his office.
Witkoff and Kushner praised Netanyahu in return, echoing the prime minister’s stance on what brought the deal about.
“I really want to say that none of this would have been possible without the heroism of the IDF and the soldiers – what they have achieved not only in Gaza, but also in the entire arena over the past two years: in eliminating Hezbollah in the north and significantly weakening it, and also in what you have done in Iran,” Kushner said.
Witkoff thanked the Prime Minister, stating that he was responsible for “the real hard work.”
“There were moments when I thought you should have been more flexible, or your country should have been more flexible. But the truth is that now, looking back, I think we wouldn’t have reached this point if Prime Minister Netanyahu hadn’t acted the way he did. Thank you,” he said.
The Israeli government did not say in its statement whether the cease-fire had formally begun; a government spokeswoman had earlier said it would take another day. But the Israeli news media reported that a cease-fire was now in place.
The deal involves an immediate ceasefire, with Hamas then required to release all remaining 48 hostages who were captured on October 7. Around 20 of them are believed to still be alive.
The US is understood to be sending about 200 troops to Israel to help support and monitor the ceasefire deal.
According to US officials, who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, they will establish a “civil-military coordination centre” in Israel that will help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance into the territory.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued strikes on Gaza on Thursday night, with one attack killing at least two people and leaving 40 others trapped under rubble in Gaza City.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 11 dead Palestinians and another 49 who were wounded arrived at hospitals over the past 24 hours.
An Israeli official said the military was hitting targets that posed a threat to its troops as they repositioned.
Hamas accused Netanyahu of trying to “shuffle the cards and confuse” efforts by mediators to end the war in Gaza.
Earlier on Thursday, President Donald Trump said the hostages would be released from Gaza on Monday or Tuesday, with the remains of 28 deceased hostages to be returned at a later stage.
In return for releasing them, Israel will release 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Trump added he would travel to Egypt for a signing ceremony. The speaker of Israel’s Knesset, Amir Ohana, formally invited the president to address the country’s assembly.
“The people of Israel regard you as the greatest friend and ally of the Jewish nation in modern history,” he wrote in the invitation.
At a White House Cabinet meeting, Trump said he thinks it’s going to be a “lasting peace”, adding, “hopefully an everlasting peace”.
On September 30, Trump unveiled a 20-point plan for peace in Gaza, setting out a number of stages for the fighting to stop and for the territory to be rebuilt.
The original plan for a deal outlines that a large-scale flow of aid will be allowed into Gaza.
The UN’s aid chief said on Thursday that 170,000 tonnes of aid is ready to enter the territory, adding there should be no “backsliding” on the deal.
Uncertainty remains about some of the more problematic aspects of the plan advanced by Trump – such as whether and how Hamas will disarm, and who will govern Gaza.
But the sides appear closer than they have been in months to ending the war.
Negotiations have been taking place in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh this week, with mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States present.
Sources told ITV News’ International Editor Emma Murphy on Wednesday night that a deal had been done, telling her: “Now for the hard work.”
In a Fox News interview, Trump said: “I think you’re going to see Gaza being rebuilt. We’re forming a council, a Council of Peace, we think it’s going to be called.”
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