Israel's Security Cabinet approves deal with Hamas, full Cabinet to hold vote soon

Israel’s Security Cabinet has approved the ceasefire and hostage-release deal with Hamas, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

In a statement on X, the PMO said the Security Cabinet has recommended to the full Cabinet to approve deal as “proposed deal supports the achievement of the objectives of the war”.

Following an evaluation of all diplomatic, security and humanitarian aspects, and while understanding that the proposed deal supports the achievement of the objectives of the war, the Security Cabinet has recommended that the Government approve the proposed framework.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 17, 2025

Following the approval, Israel’s cabinet convened on Friday to vote on a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal that should take effect this weekend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.

The agreement, which was earlier approved by the security cabinet, would halt fighting and bombardment in Gaza’s deadliest-ever war.

Under the deal struck by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, the following weeks should also see the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

The justice ministry published a list of 95 Palestinians to be freed starting Sunday, “subject to government approval”.

They include 69 women, 16 men and 10 minors.

Even as Netanyahu’s far-right ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, have opposed the deal, the deal is set to be approved as they have negligible standing in the decision-making bodies — just two votes in the 11-member Security Cabinet and six votes in the full 36-member Cabinet.

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However, the threat of Smotrich to quit the ruling coalition and topple Netanyahu’s government has reportedly led him to accept extremists’ demands.

The Jerusalem Post has reported that Netanyahu has accepted Smotrich's demand to break the deal after the first phase and resume the war in Gaza after the six-week ceasefire of the first phase would end. The newspaper further reported that he has also agreed to Smotrich’s demand of controlling and restricting the flow of aid into Gaza.

If Netanyahu breaks the deal after the first phase, he would likely condemn the rest of the hostages to near-certain deaths as they would either be killed in retribution by Hamas or killed in Israeli bombardment that would follow.

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu announced that Israel and Hamas had reached a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and release of hostages. He had held back announcing the deal until a last-minute crisis that he said Hamas propped was resolved .

The Israel-Hamas deal, mediated by Egypt and Qatar and facilitated by the United States, is nearly identical to the one outlined by US President Joe Biden in May 2024 .

In the three-phase deal, the first phase deal would last for six weeks in which 33 hostages would be released in lieu of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. In the second phase, all the remaining hostages would be released and Israeli military would withdraw from Gaza. In the third phase, the question of post-war Gaza’s governance and reconstruction is expected to be addressed. The six weeks of the first phase of the deal would be used to negotiate the specifics of the second and third phases.