
This article was last updated on January 17, 2025
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Israel Security Cabinet agrees to Gaza agreement, most important hurdle cleared
The Israeli Security Cabinet has agreed with a ceasefire with Hamas. Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed early this morning that negotiators had reached an agreement with Hamas on a provisional truce.
Now that the security cabinet has approved the deal, the full cabinet must also vote on it. That is expected to happen this afternoon at 2:30 p.m., a Netanyahu spokesman said. That vote is seen as a formality.
It’s meant to be the file comes into effect on Sunday morning. In the first phase – which should last six weeks – Hamas must release 33 of approximately 100 hostages in exchange for Israel’s release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli army is withdrawing from parts of the Gaza Strip in this phase.
International negotiators had already reported on Wednesday evening that the parties had reached an agreement, but yesterday Netanyahu unexpectedly postponed the Israeli security cabinet’s vote on the truce. According to him, Hamas made new demands at the last minute, something the terrorist organization denies.
Dissent within the Israeli government appears to have played a major role in the postponement; hardliners in the coalition threatened to resign if concessions were made to Hamas.
It is unclear how this was ultimately resolved. Israeli media write that Prime Minister Netanyahu has made a deal with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to ensure that he remains in the coalition. The far-right Ben Gvir reiterated this morning that he plans to resign if the deal is approved.
Correspondent Nasrah Habiballah:
“Despite the delay in the cabinet’s vote, the first hostages should be released on Sunday as planned. Yet family members remain tense, because the hostages are only released piecemeal over the six-week period. Moreover, everyone knows that this is a fragile file that could explode at any moment.
There is also still a lot of uncertainty on the Palestinian side among family members of prisoners who need to be released. Israel wants to prevent the releases from being claimed as a victory. And so it is only at the last minute that we are told who will be released and when.”
The intention is that the parties in the first phase of the truce will continue to negotiate agreements in the second phase. The release of the remaining hostages, including Israeli men of age to serve in the armed forces, will be discussed. The follow-up negotiations will probably be even more difficult because Netanyahu’s coalition partners have major reservations about further commitments to Hamas.
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