Israel approves Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas

London: Israel’s government ratified a ceasefire with the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Friday, clearing the way to suspend hostilities in Gaza within 24 hours and free Israeli hostages held in Gaza within 72 hours after that.

The Israeli cabinet agreed to the deal early on Friday morning, roughly 24 hours after mediators announced an agreement to free Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, in the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the two-year war in Gaza.

“The government has just now approved the framework for the release of all of the hostages – the living and the deceased,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s English-language X account said.

Trump said the hostages would likely be released on Monday or Tuesday. The US will also deploy 200 troops as part of a joint task force for Gaza stability, but no Americans will be on the ground in the Palestinian enclave.

The cabinet approval was largely expected but served as a capstone on the first phase of the deal after Hamas’ chief negotiator announced it had agreed to end the war.

But the broader ceasefire plan includes many unanswered questions, such as whether and how Hamas will disarm and who will govern Gaza.

Earlier, Trump – who plans to travel to Israel to be on hand for the release of the hostages – forecast a “lasting peace” in Gaza in the deal to end the war that has killed tens of thousands over the past two years, raising hopes that the outcome will go beyond a fragile ceasefire that might collapse into further fighting.

However, there is no public guarantee that Hamas will relinquish its weapons despite clear demands from Israel for steps towards disarmament in order to justify its commitment to withdraw from almost half of Gaza.

While the full terms of the peace deal are yet to be revealed, Trump spoke in Washington on Friday (AEST) as if the outcome were assured and said he expected to head to the Middle East to seal the agreement this weekend.

“Last night we reached a momentous breakthrough in the Middle East, something that people said was never going to be done,” the president said during a cabinet meeting in the US capital.

“We ended the war in Gaza and, really, on a much bigger basis, created peace. And I think it’s going to be a lasting peace, hopefully an everlasting peace.

“We secured the release of all of the remaining hostages, and they should be released on Monday or Tuesday.

“Getting them is a complicated process. I’d rather not tell you what they’ve got to do to get them. They’re in places you don’t want to be.”

After the news broke, families and supporters of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas flocked to the Tel Aviv square that’s become the focal point of two years of campaigning for their release.

In Hostages Square, as the central plaza outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art has become known, the mood was celebratory rather than solemn. There were spontaneous outbreaks of singing and dancing and many people arrived wrapped in the Israeli flag. The American Stars and Stripes was also highly visible.

“I feel sublime this morning, something that can’t be put into words,” said Danny Miran, the father of Omri, who was taken from a kibbutz during the October 7 Hamas attacks in 2023.

“We know nothing of Omri’s condition,” he added, having last seen his son in a video released by the Palestinian militant group about six months ago. “We just know he was suffering.”

Sharon Kalderon, a relative of three hostages released in earlier exchanges, said: “It’s a good morning! It’s the first time in two years that we can say good morning.”

Gili Tagori, from Tel Aviv, drew plenty of attention by arriving at the square dressed as Trump. She praised the US president as “the only one who came to work” to “cut a deal and make peace”.

“He has the compassion and leadership that our leadership lacks,” Tagori said. “I can’t give credit to the Israeli government.”

Meanwhile, in the Gaza refugee camp in al-Mawasi, children began dancing at 2am, London’s Telegraph reported.

Enas Baraka, a mother-of-five, said: “This is a great achievement. We did not expect this war to stop after two years of bombing that did not cease for a moment. Now I can feel comfortable and reassured about my children.

“We are happy with this agreement to stop the bombing, displacement and suffering,” she said. “I am tired of trying to tell [my children] that there is no food as they want.”

Trump spoke after several days of negotiations at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where his envoys joined representatives from Israel, Hamas, Qatar, Turkey and Egypt.

Asked whether Hamas would disarm, Trump said that would be part of “phase two” of the peace plan and was not specific. “There will be disarming,” he told reporters. Hamas is designated a terrorist group in Australia and many other countries.

Meanwhile, two senior US officials said the US would deploy 200 troops as part of a joint task force for Gaza stability – but no Americans would enter the Palestinian enclave.

The officials, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said the 200 would be the core of a task force that would include representatives from Egypt’s military, Qatar, Turkey and probably the United Arab Emirates.

The officials said the US troops’ exact location had yet to be decided. But they would develop a joint control centre and integrate other security forces that will work in Gaza to co-ordinate with Israeli forces to avoid clashes.

“No US troops are intended to go into Gaza,” said one of the officials.

Trump provoked strong criticism in some quarters in February when he described Gaza as a “big real estate site” and suggested it could be developed after Palestinians were sent elsewhere, but now he said that nobody would be forced to leave Gaza under the peace plan.

Exiled Hamas Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya said the group has received guarantees from the United States, Arab mediators and Turkey that the war in Gaza had permanently ended.

He said that Israel and Hamas had “reached an agreement to end the war and the aggression against our people” and that he had received confirmation that the initial pause would lead to a sustained ceasefire.

Another Hamas official, Osama Hamdan told Qatari broadcaster Al Araby that Hamas rejected the US proposal for a “board of peace”, including former British prime minister Tony Blair, to run Gaza, a key element of a 20-point plan Trump unveiled on September 30.

Netanyahu had signalled high hopes for an agreement before he convened the cabinet meetings.

“We have hit a critical point in this war,” his spokeswoman, Shosh Bedrosian, said in a televised statement.

“From day one in this war, the prime minister laid out three objectives: the return of all of our hostages, the defeat and dismantling of Hamas and ensuring Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.

“All of the prime minister’s objectives have now been achieved.”

Bedrosian said Netanyahu had approved the first stage of the peace plan and expected the release of all 48 hostages, some of whom have died in captivity after being taken in the Hamas terror attack on Israel.

A ceasefire is expected to begin within 24 hours following the Israeli cabinet approval.

Bedrosian described the terms as the approved “first phase” of the peace plan, however, and made it clear that other agreements would be required for a permanent end to the hostilities.

Hospitals were ready to accept the hostages from Monday, she said, and there would be no tolerance for Hamas “parading” the Israeli prisoners as it had done in the past.

The families of the hostages acclaimed the peace negotiations and praised Trump for the results so far, although former hostage Omer Shem Tov warned it was too soon to assume the outcome.

“With all the joy and happiness, I have to say – this isn’t over yet,” said Shem Tov, who was held by Hamas for 505 days after being kidnapped at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023.

“Let’s keep praying, sending positive energy, keep fighting until they all come back.”

While most people had left Hostages Square by midnight in Tel Aviv, dozens remained as they awaited news from the cabinet meeting, the BBC reported.

Israel will not release the bodies of Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and his brother Mohammed, CNN reported. It also said Israel would not release a high-profile Palestinian prisoner, Marwan Barghouti, who has been held for more than two decades for his role in the killings of Israeli civilians.

Trump has repeatedly claimed he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on securing the peace, just as Norwegian authorities prepare to announce the recipient for this year’s prize in Oslo on Friday.

The rapid developments in the Gaza talks appear unlikely to influence the award, however, because the Norwegian Nobel Committee said the decision on this year’s winner had already been made.

“The last meeting of the Nobel Committee took place on Monday,” Erik Aasheim, spokesman for the Norwegian Nobel Institute, told Agence France-Presse.

Netanyahu’s office backed Trump for the award on social media, saying: “Give Donald Trump the Nobel Peace Prize – he deserves it!”

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi also said Trump “deserves the Nobel Peace Prize” for the peace deal, according to a statement reported by news service Anadolu Agency.

Trump said he had been asked to speak to the Knesset, the parliament of Israel, when he visits the Middle East.

French President Emmanuel Macron backed the Trump 20-point plan when he emerged from a meeting in Paris with foreign ministers from France, Egypt, Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain.

In a sign of the divisions in Israel over the war, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said his Otzma Yehudit party, also known as Jewish Strength, would vote against the ceasefire deal.

Ben Gvir, who has been sanctioned by Australia and other countries for inciting violence, said he would continue to support Netanyahu’s ruling coalition but would “bring down the government” if Hamas was not dismantled under the peace plan.

Another right-wing minister, Bezalel Smotrich of the Religious Zionism party, also said he would oppose the ceasefire terms.

With Reuters, Bloomberg

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