The Government of Israel, meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, approved this Friday the initial peace agreement with Hamas, which entails the release of all Israeli hostages, a ceasefire and the partial withdrawal of the Israeli Army from Gaza.
“The Government has approved the scheme for the release of all hostages, both alive and dead,” the prime minister’s office announced in a brief message on the X social network.
The approval comes after hours of meeting between Israeli ministers with Netanyahu and with the special envoy of the US president, Donald Trump, for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and the son-in-law of the US president, Jared Kushner.
The ratification of the agreement was the last step expected to implement the mechanisms planned in this first phase of the plan sponsored by Trump, which Hamas also accepted early Thursday morning, and which provides for a ceasefire that will come into effect in Gaza 24 hours after this final signing, as confirmed in an appearance by Tal Heinrich, the spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
The agreement also contemplates the withdrawal of Israeli troops to certain points in the Strip, thereby reducing their control from more than 80% to 53% of the enclave’s territory.
After these first steps, Hamas will have a period of 72 hours to begin the release and delivery of the hostages to the Red Cross Committee, which will take place outside the cameras and without the ceremonies such as those organized by Hamas in previous truces.
Before making the announcement public, Netanyahu addressed his ministers and Witkoff and Kushner at the meeting to recognize the “crucial” moment on the path to achieving “one of Israel’s main objectives,” the return of the hostages.
“We could not have done it without the extraordinary help of President Trump and his team: Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner,” added the Israeli prime minister.
With information from EFE.
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