The Israeli government has ratified a ceasefire with the Palestinian group Hamas, paving the way for a 24-hour ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages within 72 hours.
The Israeli cabinet approved the deal early on Monday, about 24 hours after mediators announced the deal, which calls for the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the start of a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza as part of US President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the two-year war in Gaza.
“The government has just approved a framework for the release of all hostages – living and deceased,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an X-order.
Israelis and Palestinians rejoiced after the deal was announced, the biggest step yet towards ending a two-year war that has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and freeing the last hostages taken by Hamas in the deadly attacks that started the war.
Hamas’s exiled leader in Gaza, Khalil Al-Haja, said he had received assurances from the United States and other mediators that the war was over.
An Israeli government spokesman said the truce would take effect within 24 hours of the government’s approval of the deal. After that 24-hour period, the hostages held in Gaza will be released within 72 hours.
Twenty Israeli hostages are believed to be still alive in Gaza, while 26 are presumed dead and the fate of two is unknown. Hamas has indicated that finding the bodies of the dead could take longer than freeing those who are alive.
When the deal takes effect, trucks of food and medical aid will arrive in Gaza to help civilians, hundreds of thousands of whom have taken shelter in tents after Israeli forces destroyed their homes and leveled entire towns.
