Tel Aviv

The Israeli government has approved the ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas, according to a report by Times of Israel.

By a vote of 24-8, the cabinet approved the deal, which is set to take effect on Sunday. The deal was approved in the early hours of Saturday.

The agreement will initiate the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza and facilitate the release of both Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

The Times of Israel further reported that as the government has now approved the agreement, opponents of the deal can petition the High Court of Justice against the release of Palestinian security prisoners who are set to be freed, though the court is unlikely to intervene.

On Friday, the Israeli security cabinet had approved the hostage release-ceasefire deal with Hamas and recommended the government to adopt it.

The Israel government's hostages and missing persons coordination unit on Friday notified the families of the 33 Israeli hostages expected to be set free in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Israel has not been told how many of the 33 are alive, though it expects the majority are. Israel will receive a full status report on all those on the list seven days into the ceasefire. The order of release is not yet known. The identities of those set to return are expected to be provided 24 hours before each release, as reported by Times of Israel.

Beyond the 33 hostages set for release in phase one, Israel says 65 more hostages are currently held in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 36 confirmed dead. As the first phase progresses, talks will focus on the release of remaining hostages, ending the war, and Gaza's future reconstruction.

Netanyahu's far-right coalition allies have pressured him not to agree to end the fighting, with families of the remaining 65 hostages fearing the second phase may never happen, and their loved ones could remain in terrorists' hands.

Israeli and Hamas negotiating teams signed the deal in Doha early Friday after clearing the final hurdles. Both the US and Qatar, who mediated the negotiations, announced on Wednesday that an agreement had been reached to end the 15-month war in Gaza triggered by Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack, killing over 1200 civilians and holding over 250 as hostages, of which around 100 are still in captivity.

Following the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, President Mahmoud Abbas called for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, stating that Palestine is ready to "assume full responsibility" in Gaza.

Emphasising Gaza as an integral part of Palestine, the Palestinian President in a statement said, "The Presidency affirmed its firm position of the necessity of an immediate ceasefire in and full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

"The Presidency urges the international community along with neighbouring and donor countries to offer urgent humanitarian aid to enable the government to shoulder its responsibilities towards the Palestinian people, whether in the Gaza Strip which has been subjected to a genocidal war or in the West Bank and Jerusalem which have been subjected to grave Israeli violations," the Palestinian Presidency said.

It added, "The Presidency reiterates the urgent need for a political solution based on the United Nations resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative by holding an international peace conference to mobilize international recognition of the State of Palestine and support its quest for full membership of the United Nations in order to bring about regional security and stability conducive to ending the occupation and realise the establishment of the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the 1967 borders, in line with international law and the relevant UN resolutions."