Israeli cabinet approves Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal - which will take effect on Sunday

17 January 2025, 23:21 | Updated: 18 January 2025, 00:43

The Israeli cabinet has approved the Gaza ceasefire deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said.

The agreement involves the exchange of hostages who were seized in the October 7th attacks with Palestinian prisoners.

It follows a cabinet meeting that lasted for more than six hours.

The six-week ceasefire, which is due to begin on Sunday, was bitterly opposed by some hardline politicians.

Under the agreement, 33 Israeli hostages who have been held by Hamas in Gaza for 15 months will be swapped for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

This exchange will take place in the first phase, which will last six weeks.

During this phase, Israeli forces will also pull back from heavily populated areas in Gaza, displaced Palestinians will be allowed to start returning to their homes, and hundreds of aid trucks will be permitted to enter the territory each day.

Negotiations for the second phase—aiming for the release of the remaining hostages, a full Israeli troop withdrawal, and the restoration of long-term peace—will begin on the 16th day.

The third and final phase will focus on rebuilding Gaza, a process that could take years, as well as returning the bodies of any remaining hostages.

Many Israelis support a ceasefire deal that would bring the hostages home and end the war in Gaza.

But some families of fallen soldiers and of hostages oppose any agreement that they perceive grants too many concessions to Hamas.

Keir Starmer welcomed the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal as "long-overdue news" and paid tribute to British citizens who were killed during the conflict.

The UK Prime Minister said Britain would join its allies in continuing work to "break the cycle of violence and secure long-term peace" for Israelis and Palestinians, which he said would be grounded in a two-state solution.

He paid tribute to "those who won't make it home - including the British people who were murdered by Hamas."

94 of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 are believed to be alive in Gaza. 34 have been confirmed dead by the IDF.

British Palestinian Committee's Dr Sara Husseini on the ceasefire

The ceasefire willl not see Israel withdraw from Gaza.

Instead, a new buffer zone will be erected where the IDF stations troops to “defend” the country’s border.

At least 46,584 Palestinian people have been killed and 109,731 injured since Israel launched its assault on Gaza in the wake of the October 7 attacks in 2023.

The vast majority of those killed in Israel’s bombardments have been women and children.