The deal, which has been held back after several delays, now passes to the country’s full cabinet for signoff.
Israel’s security cabinet has recommended approving a ceasefire deal that would pause fighting in Gaza and exchange dozens of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
The approval comes after a delay which sparked fears that last-minute disagreements between Hamas and Israel could halt an agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also faced opposition from hard-line members of his coalition government, who threatened to resign over the proposal.
The deal will now go to the full cabinet for the final signoff with the aim that the ceasefire will come into effect on Sunday, when the first hostages will be released.
Israel’s high court is scheduled to hear petitions against different aspects of the agreement, but is expected to not intervene.
Under the agreement, Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. By the end of the first phase, all living women, children and elderly hostages held by the militant group should be freed.
On the first official day of the ceasefire, Hamas is to free three hostages, then another four on the seventh day. After that, it will make weekly releases.
The remainder, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that French-Israeli nationals Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi are on the list of 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the draft deal.
“We are working tirelessly to ensure they are reunited with their families,” the leader said in a message on X.
On Wednesday US President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar announced the truce, which took months of painstaking negotiations. If implemented, the agreement would be at least a temporary pause in fighting that has killed scores of people and devastated the Gaza Strip.
