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Israel has confirmed that a ceasefire deal in Gaza has been reached after a last-minute crisis in talks with Hamas was resolved, with Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet set to vote on the deal on Friday.
US-led mediators had announced on Wednesday that the two sides had agreed to a multi-phase deal to end the 15-month war and free the 98 hostages still held by the Palestinian militant group.
But official approval by Israel had been delayed due to disagreements with Hamas over the release of Palestinian prisoners and political tensions within Netanyahu’s government.
According to a person familiar with Israeli government discussions, the cabinet is now expected to approve the deal on Friday, with the full government set to meet and vote on Saturday night after the Sabbath.
Under the law, the Israeli public then has the right to appeal to the Supreme Court against the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails that are part of the deal — making it “possible,” the person added, that the deal’s implementation will only start on monday.
Mediators had previously been confident that the ceasefire would take effect and the first three Israeli hostages would be released by midday on Sunday.
Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, is also trying to manage a growing political crisis in the country, with far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announcing Thursday night that he and his Jewish Power party would quit the coalition governing whether “reckless” agreements were approved.
Ben-Gvir and his ultranationalist ally, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, had repeatedly threatened to quit Netanyahu’s government if it accepted a deal that would end the war.
The removal of Jewish power would leave the prime minister’s coalition with a two-seat majority in Israel’s parliament. It would also pile pressure on Smotrich’s religious Zionist party to follow suit and withdraw.
While Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are not thought to have enough support in the cabinet to torpedo approval of the deal, if both withdraw their far-right parties from government, the coalition would lose its parliamentary majority.
Israel’s political system does not preclude minority governments, and opposition parties have said they are prepared to support Netanyahu’s coalition if necessary, but the loss of two of his allies would shake the prime minister’s hold and could lead to snap elections. .
