Israel Approves Ceasefire plan in Gaza and the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas, marking a crucial step toward ending the two-year conflict.
Senior US officials announced that a 200-strong US military team will be deployed to the region to help oversee the truce following the agreement on the first phase of the Trump administration’s plan to stop the fighting.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the cabinet early Friday approved the framework to release all hostages, living and deceased, but did not comment on other contentious parts of the plan. According to the deal, Israel Approves Ceasefire is expected to begin immediately after government approval, with the Israeli military given 24 hours to withdraw to an agreed line. Hostages held in Gaza would then be freed within 72 hours, a government spokesperson said.
Both Israelis and Palestinians celebrated the ceasefire announcement, though Gaza experienced a mix of joy and anxiety over concerns the deal might fail.
Hamas’s exiled leader Khalil Al-Hayya said he had received assurances from the US and other mediators that the war was over.
Admiral Brad Cooper, head of the US Central Command, will deploy the initial 200-person team to monitor compliance with the truce, joined by military officials from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and possibly the UAE. No US troops are planned to enter Gaza, according to US sources.
Despite the Israel Approves Ceasefire, Israeli strikes continued shortly before the cabinet vote, including attacks in northern Gaza and one that killed at least two people in Gaza City. Gaza’s health ministry reported 11 deaths and 49 injuries in the past 24 hours.
Israeli officials said strikes targeted threats to their forces as they repositioned. Hamas accused Israel of trying to disrupt peace efforts by continuing attacks.
About 20 hostages are believed alive in Gaza, with 26 presumed dead and two unaccounted for.
The broader 20-point ceasefire plan still leaves questions unresolved, such as Hamas’s disarmament, but both sides appear closer than ever to ending the conflict that began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, which killed roughly 1,200 and took 251 hostages. Israel’s retaliation has killed over 67,000 Palestinians and wounded nearly 170,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Israel Approves Ceasefire
US military task force will monitor the ceasefire without entering Gaza.
Meanwhile, the IDF confirmed that Mordechai Nachmani, a 26-year-old reservist, was killed by a Hamas sniper in Gaza City after the hostage release deal was signed in Egypt but before the ceasefire began.
Israel Approves Ceasefire, Israeli media published a list of Palestinian prisoners expected to be released under the deal, including about 250 serving life sentences out of roughly 290 currently imprisoned, along with 22 children.
