The agreement, which calls for exchanging Palestinian inmates in Israeli prisons for hostages held in Gaza, is set to go into force on Sunday.
Following more than 460 days of fighting in which Israeli troops have killed over 46,788 Palestinians and injured 110,453, Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet has accepted an agreement with Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The agreement, which was approved early on Saturday morning and is anticipated to go into effect on Sunday, calls for exchanging Palestinian inmates in Israeli prisons for hostages held in Gaza. The details of a lasting end to the conflict will then be finalized.
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Israel blamed Hamas for delaying important sessions of its cabinet and security cabinet, which were scheduled to vote on Thursday, because of apparent long-standing differences among ministers.
Hamas allegedly broke important terms of the deal in order to secure last-minute concessions, according to Netanyahu’s staff. Izzat al-Risheq, a senior Hamas official, however, emphasized that the organization was still dedicated to the ceasefire agreement.
Hamas said in a statement earlier on Friday that obstacles that arose in relation to the terms of the Gaza ceasefire agreement had been resolved at dawn that day.
According to Netanyahu’s office, if the Israeli cabinet approved the accord, Hamas would begin releasing prisoners “as early as Sunday.”
On Wednesday, mediators Qatar, Egypt, and the United States announced the ceasefire accord.
According to the agreement, Israeli forces will gradually withdraw from several parts of Gaza, a six-week interim ceasefire will be implemented, and humanitarian aid will increase.
