Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Friday that the government had “approved the framework” of a hostage release deal with Hamas, as both sides edged closer to ending more than two years of hostilities in Gaza.
Israel previously said “all parties” had signed the first phase of a ceasefire agreement, adding that Hamas freeing the captives would “bring the end to this war”.
The accord in Egypt follows a 20-point peace plan for Gaza announced last month by US President Donald Trump, who said he planned to leave on Sunday for the Middle East.
Egypt is planning an event to celebrate the conclusion of the deal, with Trump also expected to stop in Israel and consider going to devastated Gaza.
The Israeli government had said the ceasefire was to take hold within 24 hours of meetings on Thursday to approve the deal, under which the military should eventually withdraw from Gaza.
And in a statement early on Friday, Netanyahu’s office said the government had “approved the framework for the release of all the hostages — both the living and the deceased”.
Netanyahu had faced pushback from his far-right allies, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir saying he would vote against the agreement, calling the plan to release thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the 47 hostages remaining in Gaza “an unbearable heavy price”.
Despite celebrations in Israel and Gaza and a flood of messages from world leaders hailing the deal, numerous issues remain unsettled, including the plan’s call for Hamas to disarm and a proposed transitional authority for Gaza led by Trump himself.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said the Palestinian Islamist movement rejected the latter.
“No Palestinian would accept this. All the factions, including the Palestinian Authority, reject this,” Hamdan told Qatar-based broadcaster Al Araby.
Trump said the issue of Hamas surrendering its weapons would be addressed in the second phase of the peace plan.
“There will be disarming,” he told reporters, adding there would also be “pullbacks” by Israeli forces.
Senior US officials said a military team of 200 people, led by US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper, would be deployed in the Middle East to “oversee” the truce.
One official said Egyptian, Qatari, Turkish and probably Emirati military officials would be embedded in the team. A second official said “no US troops are intended to go into Gaza”.
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