Israel’s prime minister’s office said negotiators signed off on the first phase during talks in Egypt overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
Ministers then endorsed the decision late Friday after hours of deliberations that followed a security cabinet meeting.
Under the plan’s opening stage — drafted as part of a 20-point proposal — hostilities are to halt, Israeli hostages are to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, Israeli troops are to partially withdraw, and humanitarian aid is to increase.
Once the government’s approval takes effect, “all military action” is to stop, according to a document reported by media as having been adopted during the Egypt negotiations.
Israeli forces are to redeploy within 24 hours to an agreed line inside Gaza. Media said Israel would then hold about 53% of the territory and withdraw from the area around Gaza City. The Israeli military currently controls at least 75% of the Strip.
Within 72 hours, Hamas is expected to free all 20 living captives and return the bodies of 28 hostages. Israel’s intelligence services assess Hamas may be unable to locate all remains, meaning some could be delayed, the Ynet news site reported.
Following those steps, Israel is to release 250 Palestinians serving life sentences and 1,700 Gaza residents detained after the war began two years ago. Ynet said the prisoner releases were heavily debated in government because many on the list were convicted over attacks that killed Israelis.
Far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich had said they would oppose the accord. Ynet reported, however, that the cabinet ultimately adopted the deal by acclamation, without a vote.
Toward the end of the meeting, U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, joined Israeli ministers after earlier talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Later phases of the 20-point plan envision Hamas laying down its arms, the handover of governance in Gaza to a temporary Palestinian administration under international oversight, and reconstruction of the enclave. Those issues have not yet been negotiated, Qatari media said discussions are slated to start the day after the hostages are released.
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Source: PAP