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The full Israeli cabinet passed the agreement during a meeting that continued into the Jewish Sabbath, setting up the first reprieve in Gaza in over a year.
By Aaron BoxermanRawan Sheikh AhmadJohnatan ReissEphrat Livni and Adam Rasgon
Aaron Boxerman and Adam Rasgon reported from Jerusalem, Rawan Sheikh Ahmad from Haifa, Israel, and Johnatan Reiss from Tel Aviv.
Jan. 17, 2025Updated 7:24 p.m. ET
The Israeli government approved a cease-fire deal with Hamas early Saturday that calls for the release of dozens of hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners after hours of deliberations, setting up the first reprieve in a 15-month, devastating war in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli prime minister’s office, which announced the agreement after the full cabinet voted, said the deal would go into effect on Sunday.
Palestinians have celebrated the provisional cease-fire with the hope that it will finally end the conflict and Israelis are anxiously awaiting the return of scores of captives abducted by Hamas.
Daniel Lifshitz, whose grandfather Oded, 84, was among the 250 captives taken in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, said, “The stomach is turning, and the heart is poured out on the floor, but it’s what we’ve been waiting for.”
The initial attack killed about 1,200 people, setting off a wave of bombardments by Israel that has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to Gazan health officials, who do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The vote on Saturday was the second and final one required to approve the cease-fire and hostage release agreement. Hours earlier on Friday, the security cabinet voted to approve it, overcoming a key hurdle to enacting a deal that U.S. and other diplomats see as the best chance to end the war. Hamas had said that there were no longer any barriers to the agreement.
