Muhamad Yehia
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israeli has ordered a meeting of Israel’s political security cabinet for later today to approve the Gaza cease-fire deal, after Israeli and Hamas negotiators worked out their remaining differences.
A vote scheduled for yesterday was delayed by last-minute disputes with Hamas and rifts that emerged inside Netanyahu’s governing coalition. Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s hard-line national security minister, threatened to remove his party from the coalition if the cabinet voted to approve the provisional deal.
The move could threaten Netanyahu’s hold on power but is unlikely to stop the deal. He would still command a majority of 62 seats in the 120-member Parliament, and opposition lawmakers have pledged to support the push for a cease-fire if more hard-line allies leave the coalition. Read more about the political crisis facing Netanyahu.
The prime minister’s office said that the families of hostages had been informed of the agreement and that the government authority responsible for the hostages had been instructed to prepare for their return to Israel.
Details: The cease-fire would start with a six-week phase involving the release of 33 hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, as well as the entry into Gaza each day of 600 trucks carrying humanitarian relief, according to a copy of the agreement.
On the ground: Many Gazans reacted to the prospect of a cease-fire with wary hope, tempered by sadness. “How can we ever rebuild?” one said. “Where will we even begin?” Recent Israeli attacks in the territory killed at least 81 people and injured nearly 200 others, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.