Israel's Cabinet approves deal for ceasefire in Gaza and release of hostages

Israels Cabinet approved a deal early Saturday for a ceasefire in Gaza that would release dozens of hostages held there and pause the 15month war with Hamas bringing the sides a step closer to ending their deadliest and most destructive fighting everMediators Qatar and the US announced the ceasefire Wednesday but the deal was in limbo for more than a day as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted there were lastminute complications that he blamed on the Hamas militant groupThe ceasefire just the second achieved during the war will go into effect Sunday though key questions remain including the names of the 33 hostages to be released during the sixweek first phase of the ceasefire and who among them is still aliveThe Cabinet met well past the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath in a reflection of the moments importance In line with Jewish law the Israeli government usually halts all business for the Sabbath except in emergency cases of life or deathNetanyahu instructed a special task force to prepare to receive the hostages returning from Gaza and said that their families were informed a deal had been reached Hundreds of Palestinian detainees are to be released as well and the largely devastated Gaza should see a surge in humanitarian aidIsraels justice ministry published a list of 95 Palestinian prisoners to be freed in the deals first phase and said the release will not begin before 4 pm local time Sunday All people on the list are younger or femaleIsraels Prison Services said it will transport the prisoners instead of the International Committee of the Red Cross which handled transportation during the first ceasefire to avoid public expressions of joy The prisoners have been accused of crimes like incitement vandalism supporting terror terror activities attempted murder or throwing stones or Molotov cocktailsTrucks carrying aid lined up Friday on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into Gaza An Egyptian official said an Israeli delegation from the military and Israels Shin Bet internal security agency arrived Friday in Cairo to discuss the reopening of the crossing An Israeli official confirmed a delegation was going to Cairo Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private negotiationsIsraeli forces will also pull back from many areas in Gaza during the first phase of the ceasefire and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians will be able to return to whats left of their homesIsraels military said that as its forces gradually withdraw from specific locations and routes in Gaza residents will not be allowed to return to areas where troops are present or near the IsraelGaza border and any threat to Israeli forces will be met with a forceful response Hamas triggered the war with its Oct 7 2023 crossborder attack into Israel that killed some 1200 people and left some 250 others captive Nearly 100 hostages remain in GazaIsrael responded with a devastating offensive that has killed more than 46000 Palestinians according to local health officials who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half the dead Fighting continued into Friday and Gazas Health Ministry said 88 bodies had arrived at hospitals in the past 24 hours In previous conflicts both sides stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires as a way to project strengthThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever