Israel approves ceasefire with Hamas for hostage release in Gaza; Netanyahu praised by US delegates. US to send 200 troops to monitor, joining Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, UAE.
The Israeli government has approved the ceasefire resolution, which includes the release of all hostages held in Gaza, signed with Hamas and mediators, the Prime Minister’s office said on Thursday.
According to The Times of Israel, most cabinet ministers during the meeeting voted in favour of the deal, including Minister Ofir Sofer of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionism party, all of whose other ministers opposed the deal.
Speaking at the government meeting for the approval of the hostages’ release framework, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “We are at a momentous development. In the last two years, we’ve fought to achieve our war aims. And a central one of these war aims is to return the hostages. All of the hostages, the living and the dead. And we’re about to achieve that.”
Netanyahu further thanked US President Donald Trump and said that Israel couldn’t have achieved it without the extraordinary help of President Trump and his team, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner.
The meeting held late on Thursday evening passed the resolution that stated the IDF to withdraw to new lines inside of the Gaza Strip, after which the 72-hour window for Hamas to release all the hostages will begin.
During the opening remarks of the meeting, US President Donald Trump’s delegates – foreign envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner – lauded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decisions during the war.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu made some very, very difficult calls, and lesser people would not have made those calls. And here we are today, because Hamas had to. They had to do this deal. The pressure was on them,” Witkoff said.
CNN quoted Kushner lauding Netanyahu, saying he did a “great job in negotiations”.
The Israeli PM thanked both leaders and said: ““I think you put in your brains and your hearts, and we know that it’s for the benefit of Israel and the United States, for the benefit of decent people everywhere, and for the benefit of these families, who will finally get to be with their loved ones.”
