According to the PMO, a ceasefire and hostage-release deal reached with Hamas has just been officially approved by the Security Cabinet of Israel. This development marks a significant movement toward a vote of the full Cabinet, which is expected to happen anytime soon.
In a statement on X, the PMO said the Security Cabinet had approved the agreement and was recommending it to the full Cabinet, maintaining that the proposed agreement is in keeping with the goals of the operation. The spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the full Cabinet would vote on the agreement at 3:30 PM local time Tuesday afternoon; the vote had been previously scheduled for Saturday evening.
The ceasefire and hostage deal must first be approved by the Security Cabinet and then the full Cabinet for it to be implemented. The Supreme Court should then take up petitions against the agreement on legal grounds. With everything going accordingly, the implementation of the deal is set for this Sunday at 12:15 PM.
The PMO further verified that, as projected in the timetable, the first round of hostages is set for Sunday. Against anticipated resistance by the two hard-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, a passing is likely because their clout in decision-making structures—two out of 11 members of the Security Cabinet and six of the full 36 members Cabinet—is insufficient.
But Smotrich’s threat to leave the ruling coalition has apparently forced Netanyahu to give in to some of the extremist demands. According to The Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu has already given in to one of Smotrich’s conditions: that the deal will be revisited after the first phase and military operations in Gaza will be resumed after the ceasefire. Smotrich also wants to oversee the delivery of aid into Gaza.
If Netanyahu were to go back on the deal after the first phase, the remaining hostages could suffer at the hands of Hamas, either in retaliation or in the middle of subsequent Israeli military attacks.
Earlier, Netanyahu announced there was an agreement for a cease-fire and hostages’ release, having delayed the announcement to resolve a last-minute crisis with Hamas.
The deal between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Egypt and Qatar with U.S. facilitation, is close to what President Joe Biden had proposed in May 2024. It will be implemented in three phases: the first phase, lasting six weeks, will see 33 hostages released in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Remaining hostages would be released during the second phase, coupled with an Israeli withdrawal of military troops from Gaza. Governance and reconstruction mechanisms of the Gaza Strip would be taken in the third phase after conflict ends. Specifics for phases two and three would be negotiated over the initial six-week period.
