The Israeli cabinet approved a cease-fire agreement with Hamas and the release of hostages
The Israeli cabinet has voted to approve it step by step Cease fire and hostage release agreement With Hamas, the deal was approved hours later by the country’s security cabinet on Friday. The first phase of the deal is expected to begin on Sunday, exchanging several hostages in Gaza for dozens of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
There will be a window to appeal the decision to Israel’s Supreme Court, but it has previously refrained from intervening in similar cases.
According to a translated version of the agreement seen by CBS News and a statement from President Biden, the agreement consists of three phases, each lasting 42 days.
According to a draft seen by CBS News, Hamas would begin releasing the hostages on the first day, and return the first three to Israel. On the seventh day, Hamas releases four hostages. After that, Hamas will release three hostages taken from Israel every seven days, starting with the living and then moving on to return the bodies of the dead.
In the first phase, a total of 33 women and children, as well as hostages over the age of 50, will be released, according to the draft seen by CBS News.
President Biden said Wednesday that Americans would be among the hostages released in this phase, but did not specify any names or how soon they would be released.
For every woman or child kidnapped and returned to Israel, Israel is expected to release 30 Palestinian women and children from prison. Hamas will release all hostages over the age of 50, while Israel will release 30 Palestinian prisoners aged 50 and over.
The draft, seen by CBS News, would require a complete ceasefire in Gaza to allow aid to flow in while hostages and prisoners are exchanged. International aid groups and the United Nations will continue their work in Gaza, and will begin to rebuild the infrastructure of the area, such as water, electricity and sewage.
The second phase of the deal, which will be negotiated during the first phase, will include the release of the remaining male Israeli hostages and the withdrawal of all defense forces from Gaza, the president announced on Wednesday.
The third phase, negotiated in earlier stages, would include exchanging the bodies of dead hostages and prisoners and beginning the reconstruction of Gaza, Mr. Biden said.
The deal is a weak step toward ending the 15-month war. It is believed that around 100 hostages are still being held after Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people. The Israel Defense Forces said it believed about a third of the hostages were dead.
More than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli attacks since the start of the war, according to the Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry, and most of the population of Gaza is displaced and lives in camps. There were humanitarian groups Struggle to deliver helpAnd experts have warned about hunger.
Israeli airstrikes in Gaza continued overnight Friday, and the Hamas-run Civil Defense Agency said 113 Palestinians were killed Wednesday night local time after a cease-fire and ceasefire agreement was announced.
Huda Matrabi, a Palestinian living in northern Gaza, told CBS News affiliate BBC News that the promise of a deal gave her hope, but “with that hope comes real fear” that the deal could collapse.
“The fear is not just the immediate danger, but the emotional damage: the constant uncertainty and the constant feeling that our lives are not our own,” she says.
The families of the hostages gathered in Tel Aviv on Friday to demand a deal.
“This deal is too late for my son Guy, his life will not be saved. But he can come back home for the funeral,” said Michele Ilouts, whose 26-year-old son was kidnapped from the Nova music festival in October. In the year In the year “Our work is not done. We will not rest until all hostages are home, living and dead. They must all return to us, to their families.”
