Israel’s cabinet approved early on Friday US President Donald Trump’s plan for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, after a deal was brokered by negotiators on Thursday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
A brief statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the Cabinet approved the “outline” of a deal to release the hostages, without mentioning other aspects of the plan that are more controversial.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said that, according to the agreement, 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.
A spokesperson for the Israeli government also detailed that following the initial 24-hour retreat window, a 72-hour period will be launched, where all of Israel’s remaining hostages will be released gradually.
The broader ceasefire plan includes many unanswered questions, such as whether and how Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza.
But the sides appeared closer than they have been in months to ending a war that has killed over 67,000 Palestinians, reduced much of the enclave to rubble, brought famine to parts of the territory and left dozens of hostages, living and dead, in Gaza.
In the hours leading up to the Israeli Cabinet’s vote, strikes on Gaza continued. Explosions were seen on Thursday in the north of the Strip. A strike on a building in Gaza City killed at least two people and left more than 40 trapped under rubble, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence.
A senior Hamas official and lead negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, laid out what he says are the core elements of the ceasefire deal: Israel releasing around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, opening the border crossing with Egypt, allowing aid to flow and withdrawing from Gaza.
Al-Hayya also noted that all women and children held in Israeli prisons will be freed. He did not offer details on the extent of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
He also said the Trump administration and mediators – Qatar, Egypt and Turkey – had given assurances to the group that the war is over, and that Hamas and other Palestinian factions will now focus on achieving self-determination and establishing a Palestinian state.
“We declare today that we have reached an agreement to end the war and the aggression against our people,” Al-Hayya said in a televised speech on Thursday evening.
To help support and monitor the ceasefire deal, US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that they would send about 200 troops to Israel as part of a broader, international team.
They shared that the US Central Command is going to 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 wracked by two years of war.
An official also stated that the US military will help monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the transition to a civilian government in Gaza, offering the first details on a litany of questions surrounding the Trump 21-point peace plan.
They also said that members of the armed forces of Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are expected to be embedded with the team of US troops. The American service members will integrate the multinational force and coordinate with Israeli defence forces, the official said.
They did not comment on the specifics of what each country’s troops would be doing, but stated that US service members who will be deployed have expertise in transportation, planning, security, logistics and engineering.
Additional sources • AP