The Israeli government has approved an agreement for a ceasefire and the release of hostages, following a cabinet vote held in the early hours of Friday morning, local time.
The agreement represents only the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, which still contains “a number of difficult issues to be resolved.”
According to the BBC, a ceasefire in Gaza is expected to take effect early Saturday, 24 hours after the deal’s official approval by the Israeli government.
A spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said that Israeli troops will withdraw to a line giving control of 53% of the Gaza Strip, describing this as the first of three planned withdrawals outlined in Trump’s peace proposal.
Under the agreement, the release of Israeli hostages — both alive and deceased — held by Hamas will begin, followed by the release of Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli prisons, as well as detainees from Gaza.
U.S. officials have confirmed that Washington is relocating up to 200 troops to Israel — forces currently stationed elsewhere in the Middle East — to coordinate a multinational monitoring force tasked with overseeing the ceasefire.
