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Israel’s cabinet voted on Saturday to approve a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said. The first stage of the truce is set to begin this weekend bringing a halt to fighting and bombardment in Gaza’s deadliest-ever war. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments.
Israel says 737 prisoners to be freed in first phase of Gaza truce deal
Israel’s justice ministry has said 737 prisoners and detainees will be freed as part of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal approved Saturday.
Those named by the ministry include men, women and children who it said will not be released before Sunday at 4:00 pm local time.
Among those on the list was Zakaria Zubeidi, a chief of the armed wing of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party. Zubeidi escaped from Israel’s Gilboa prison with five other Palestinians in 2021, sparking a days-long manhunt, and is lauded by Palestinians as a hero.
Also to be freed is Khalida Jarar, a leftist Palestinian lawmaker whom Israel arrested and imprisoned on several occasions. Jarar is a prominent member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a group designated a “terrorist organisation” by Israel, the United States and the European Union. The 60-year-old has been held since December without charge.
Israeli cabinet approves Gaza ceasefire deal
The Israeli government ratified the Gaza ceasefire and hostage return deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, after a cabinet meeting that lasted more than six hours and ended in the early
hours of Saturday.
Under the deal, bitterly opposed by some cabinet hardliners, a six-week ceasefire is due to take effect on Sunday, with the first of a series of hostage-for-prisoner exchanges that could open the way to ending the 15-month war in Gaza.
Hello and welcome to our liveblog covering the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal. Catch up on yesterday’s events here.
- Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Friday that a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached, paving the way for a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.
- Israel‘s security cabinet recommended approving the ceasefire and hostage-release deal ahead of a meeting of the full cabinet later on Friday.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced confidence that the implementation of a ceasefire in Gaza would begin Sunday, January 19.
- Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said that he and his party colleagues would quit Israel’s cabinet if it votes to approve a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal when it meets on Friday morning.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
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