The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced that the Israeli Security Cabinet approved the Gaza ceasefire and hostage agreement declared in Qatar on Wednesday.
The Security Cabinet’s 11 voting members approved the agreement by a simple majority.
The agreement still needs approval from the 33 Israeli Cabinet members. The meeting is scheduled to take place on Friday at 3:30 pm local time (8:30 am EST).
Israel stated that currently 98 hostages are being held in Gaza, with at least 36 confirmed dead by the Israeli Defense Forces.
According to the agreement, in the first stage, Hamas will release 33 hostages within 42 days, including children, women, female soldiers, elderly, and patients. In exchange, Israel may release 990 to 1,650 Palestinians in the first stage, including men, women, and children. The total number of Palestinians released will depend on the situation of the hostages released by Gaza.
During the ceasefire in the first stage, both parties will negotiate the second phase agreement, which involves releasing all remaining hostages in exchange for a permanent ceasefire.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated on Friday that Hamas is expected to release the first group of hostages on Sunday after the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Hamas stated in a release on Friday that obstacles related to the terms of the Gaza ceasefire agreement have been resolved.
From the Israeli perspective, any verbal commitments prior to approval from the Security Cabinet and the government cannot be considered as formally accepting the agreement.