Israel’s Cabinet on Wednesday, November 22, approved a temporary cease-fire with the Hamas militant group that is expected to bring the first halt in fighting in a devastating six-week war and win freedom for dozens of hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas released a statement welcoming the "humanitarian truce".
The deal calls for a four-day cease-fire, during which Israel will halt its military offensive in Gaza while Hamas frees "at least" 50 of the roughly 240 hostages it and other militants are holding, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said. The first hostages to be released are women and children.
"The government of Israel is committed to bringing all of the hostages home. Tonight, the government approved the outline for the first stage of achieving this goal," the office said in a statement.
Media reports ahead of the vote said Israel would free some 150 Palestinian prisoners and allow additional humanitarian aid into Gaza as part of the deal, but the Israeli statement made no mention of either of these elements. It was not clear when the truce, brokered by the US and Qatar, would go into effect.
Hostage releases will begin roughly 24 hours after the deal is approved by all parties, said a senior White House official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matters. The government of Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under Wednesday’s deal, Hamas is expected to release roughly 12 hostages each day. Israeli media reports said the hostages could begin to be released as soon as Thursday.
Ahead of the Cabinet vote, which came after a six-hour meeting stretching into the early morning, Netanyahu said the war against Hamas would resume after the truce expires. "We are at war, and we will continue the war," he said. "We will continue until we achieve all our goals."
Despite his tough words, the government statement said the truce would be extended an extra day for every additional 10 hostages released by Hamas.
A longer-term lull could lead to pressure, both international and domestic, for Israel to end its war without achieving its goal of destroying Hamas’ military capabilities.
The war erupted on October 7 when several thousand Hamas militants burst across the border into Israel, killing at least 1,200 people and taking hundreds hostage. Most of the dead were civilians, while the hostages include small children, women and older people. Israel responded with weeks of blistering airstrikes on Gaza, followed by a ground invasion that began over three weeks ago. More than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israeli offensive, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory. It does not differentiate between civilians and militants, though some two-thirds of the dead have been identified as women and minors. Israel says thousands of Hamas militants have been killed.