Despite that Thursday night the hostage release-ceasefire deal which is to end the war in Gaza was already signed in Doha, there's still been some final government approval hurdles on the Israeli side.
Israel's security cabinet has issued its formal approval, but now the deal moves to the full cabinet for final discussion and vote, expected to be held before the Jewish Shabbat begins. The cabinet further recommends that "the government approve the proposed outline."
A statement by the Israeli prime minister’s office indicated the cabinet accepted the deal "after examining all political, security, and humanitarian aspects; and with the understanding that the proposed deal supports the achievement of the war’s goals."
There are still expected to be some holdouts arguing against, however:
The PMO does not reveal who voted to support the move, but Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party both said they would not back the deal.
Earlier, the government said that the plan will still be implemented as of Sunday despite the bureaucratic delays, which means the High Court will still need to hold a hearing into petitions against the agreement, though it is not expected to intervene.
Despite these delays on the Israeli side, President-Elect Trump along with President Biden were the first world leaders this week to hail the deal.
An initial Hamas statement also celebrated this as a 'win' over the Israeli military machine, which has been unable to root out the Islamist insurgency in the strip. Words from Hamas leadership praised "the legendary steadfastness of the great Palestinian people and the valiant resistance in the Gaza Strip."
According to more of the latest details via an Al Jazeera summary:
- Hamas says that obstacles that arose in relation to the terms of the Gaza ceasefire agreement were resolved at dawn today, according to a statement issued by the group.
- The Israeli media has published names of the 33 Israeli captives who are going to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
- If approved by the Israeli government and cabinet, the ceasefire deal could proceed by the planned timeline, with captives freed as early as Sunday, according to a statement from the Israeli PM’s office.
- Israeli attacks are intensifying on densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip, including in Gaza City and northern border towns, according to Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah.
Bombardment of the Gaza Strip has meanwhile continued until the deal's full implementation Sunday...
Yesterday, Isreal & Hamas agreed upon a ceasefire; it will start on Sunday.
— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) January 16, 2025
In the meantime, Israel continues its bombardment of Gaza. At least 80 have been killed since the deal was announced.
IN GAZA, THIS IS THE REALITY.pic.twitter.com/1cjVuYmPZ6
If the truce holds, it will likely go down in the history books as a victory for Trump's early diplomacy. Progressives too have been wondering what took the Biden White House so long, given also that virtually the same deal was on the table previously this summer, and it collapsed - after the US administration brought no pressure to bear.