Скачать или смотреть Israeli Cabinet Takes Up Gaza Cease-Fire in Final Step to Approval

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the deal, which was approved by the security cabinet earlier Friday and is expected to get sign off from the full cabinet, could go into effect as early as Sunday.

The full Israeli cabinet began meeting Friday night to vote on an agreement for a cease-fire and the release of hostages in Gaza, according to two Israeli officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to publicly discuss it. The deal is seen as the best chance to end the devastating 15-month war in the enclave.

The meeting comes after Israel’s security cabinet — a small forum of senior ministers — approved the cease-fire agreement earlier in the day, overcoming a key hurdle after Israeli and Hamas negotiators resolved remaining disputes.

The gathering is taking place during the Jewish Sabbath (which began at sundown Friday), when religious Jews are not permitted to work. But Jewish religious authorities have long held that lifesaving actions can nullify the Sabbath’s prohibitions.

Hamas said on Friday that there were no longer any barriers to the agreement.

Qatar and Egypt mediated the cease-fire deal alongside the Biden and incoming Trump administrations. Mediators hope the provisional cease-fire will ultimately end the war that has devastated the Gaza Strip, killing tens of thousands of Palestinians. Hamas-led militants began the fighting with a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage.

Under the agreement, both sides will begin the cease-fire with a six-week truce, during which Israeli forces will withdraw eastward, away from populated areas. Hamas will free 33 of the hostages still in captivity, mostly women and older people.

Israel will also release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including some serving long sentences for attacks on Israelis. On Friday evening, the Israeli government released a list of 95 prisoners it said would be part of the first group of Palestinians to be released on Sunday. More names will be published after the deal is formally approved, the Israeli justice ministry said.

After the Israeli government signs off on the deal, Israeli civilians will have a short window to file objections, but the courts are widely expected to allow the agreement to go forward.

The cease-fire would be the first since November 2023, when 105 hostages were freed in a weeklong truce in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Here’s what else to know:

Attacks in Gaza: Deadly strikes have continued since the cease-fire deal was announced. The Palestinian Civil Defense, an emergency service organization, said Friday that Israeli strikes had killed more than 100 people since the announcement. That figure could not be independently verified. The Israeli military said on Thursday that it had struck about 50 targets across the Gaza Strip over the previous day, adding that “numerous steps” had been taken to prevent civilian harm before the strikes.

Delays overcome: The security cabinet vote had been expected on Thursday, but it was held up amid last-minute conflicts between Israel and Hamas, as well as widening rifts over the agreement in the governing coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel’s right wing: Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s hard-line national security minister, threatened to resign and remove his party from Mr. Netanyahu’s government if the cabinet approved the cease-fire, saying that it would leave Hamas in power in Gaza. While Mr. Ben-Gvir’s threat could destabilize Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition at a critical time, it was unlikely to scuttle the cease-fire deal. Opposition lawmakers have pledged to support Mr. Netanyahu’s push for a cease-fire if more hard-line allies leave the coalition.

Biden on Netanyahu: President Biden, in his final television interview in office, which was broadcast on MSNBC on Thursday night, defended his steadfast support for Israel throughout the conflict, but said he had pushed Mr. Netanyahu to prevent Palestinian civilian deaths.

Trump’s inauguration: President-elect Donald J. Trump, who had pressured the parties to reach an agreement before his inauguration, repeated in an interview shown on Thursday that he wanted the deal closed before he took office on Monday.