Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delayed his cabinet’s vote on the approval of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, initially scheduled for Thursday, accusing Hamas of seeking last-minute changes to the agreement.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that a “pending issue” was being resolved and expressed confidence that the ceasefire would begin on Sunday as planned.
Although Israeli negotiators reached an agreement after months of talks, the deal with Hamas cannot be implemented until it is approved by the security cabinet and the government.
Hamas announced its commitment to the agreement, but Israeli officials suspect the group is trying to add some of its members to the list of Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of the deal.
Ultimately, Netanyahu’s office officially confirmed early Friday morning that an “agreement for the release of hostages” held in the Gaza Strip had been reached, adding that the government’s “security cabinet” was expected to meet later in the day to vote and approve it.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been informed by the negotiation team that agreements have been reached for the release of the hostages,” reads the official statement. It added that the inner cabinet was set to convene today to review the agreement.
However, reports in the Israeli media noted that the approval had been postponed until Saturday, meaning the first hostage releases would occur on Monday instead of Sunday as previously announced by countries mediating the indirect negotiations.
The delay followed Israeli airstrikes in Gaza after the agreement was announced on Wednesday, which killed over 80 people, according to Hamas-run Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The U.S. Is “Confident” the Agreement Will Take Effect on Sunday
Hours before the scheduled Thursday morning meeting, Netanyahu accused Hamas of attempting to “extort last-minute concessions.”
The cabinet will not convene until Hamas accepts “all elements of the agreement,” stated Netanyahu’s office.
Blinken noted that such delays were to be expected in a “difficult” situation like this.
“It’s not exactly a surprise that in a process and negotiation as challenging and fraught as this one, there might be a last-minute issue,” he said during a press conference in Washington.
“We’re resolving it as we speak,” he added.
He affirmed that the U.S. was “confident” the agreement would take effect on Sunday as planned, with the ceasefire being upheld.
Vote Scheduled for Saturday – Far-Right Opposition
Israel’s cabinet is expected to hold a full vote on the ceasefire-hostage deal on Saturday, according to an Israeli official. A smaller security cabinet is set to meet on Friday to vote on the agreement, the official said.
A majority of Israeli ministers are expected to support the deal, but late Thursday, Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stated that his far-right party would withdraw from Netanyahu’s government if the agreement was approved.
The ultranationalist security minister had previously called the deal “an outright disaster.”
“This effectively erases the gains of the war achieved at the cost of our soldiers’ blood in Gaza,” he said, maintaining his opposition to ending the conflict.
However, he clarified that his Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party would not seek to topple the government if the agreement were ratified. Nevertheless, he urged the leader of another far-right government party, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of the Religious Zionist Party, to resign alongside him.
Just days earlier, another far-right minister in the government had also voiced his opposition to any agreement that would end the war.
Meanwhile, Hamas delegation leader Khalil al-Hayya officially informed Qatar and Egypt of their approval of all the agreement’s terms.
When Hostage Releases Begin
If the ceasefire agreement takes effect on Sunday as planned, three female hostages are expected to be released on Monday, according to two U.S. officials who spoke to CNN. They will be the first of 33 hostages in Gaza, both alive and deceased, to be freed during the agreement’s initial phase, Hamas announced on Wednesday.
The hostages to be released in the first phase are classified as “humanitarian” cases: women – including soldiers – elderly men, and the injured. Male soldiers or men of fighting age are expected to be released only in a subsequent phase.
This aligns with a document shared Wednesday by senior Hamas official Bassem Naim, which stated that three female hostages would be released first.
The ceasefire-hostage agreement is set to take effect on January 19 and includes three phases, each lasting 42 days, according to the document.
Mental Health Care for Hostages
The Israeli Defense Ministry and military are prepared to provide “emotional support” and “mental health care” to the released hostages, the ministry announced Thursday.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and an Israeli Defense Forces official stated that “all resources of the ministry will be allocated for the implementation of the hostage release agreement, welcoming the returning hostages, and supporting their families.”
The Defense Ministry emphasized its focus on “close medical and psychological care and support” and strengthening “emotional guidance” for all families of the returning hostages.
The Three Phases
In the first six-week phase of the agreement, 33 hostages – including women, children, and the elderly – will be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Israeli troops will also withdraw eastward, away from Gaza’s densely populated areas.
Displaced Palestinians could begin returning to their homes, and hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid would be allowed into the territory daily.
Negotiations for the second phase – which must address the release of the remaining hostages, the full withdrawal of Israeli forces, and a return to “sustainable calm” – would begin on the 16th day.
The third and final phase would include the return of the bodies of remaining hostages and the reconstruction of Gaza, a process that could take years.
Bombing in Gaza Continues
Israeli airstrikes continued after the agreement was announced on Wednesday. At least 80 people were killed in Gaza City, where a doctor reported that staff “did not rest for a single minute” during the “bloody night.”
The strikes targeted 50 locations in Gaza following the agreement’s announcement, according to statements by the Israeli Defense Forces and the Israeli Security Agency.
The Qatari Prime Minister – who mediated the negotiations – called for “calm” from both sides ahead of the first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement.
Israel launched its campaign to dismantle Hamas – which is banned as a terrorist organization by Israel, the U.S., and others – in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and left another 251 held hostage.
