HANDLINGPOSSIBILITY,
The agreement will come into effect on Sunday and involves the exchange of prisoners held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved a deal with Hamas to end the war in Gaza after more than 460 days of fighting in which Israeli forces have killed more than 46,788 Palestinians and wounded 110,453.
The Israeli government approved the ceasefire agreement early Saturday morning after more than six hours of talks, Netanyahu's office said in a briefing.
“The government has approved a plan to return hostages. The schedule for the release of the hostages will come into effect on Sunday,” it said.
While the agreement was strongly opposed by some hardliners in the Israeli cabinet, media reports said that 24 ministers of Netanyahu's coalition government voted for the agreement while eight opposed it. Israel's defense minister voted for a ceasefire agreement on Friday.
Under the agreement, the ceasefire begins with an initial six-week phase during which prisoners in Gaza are freed in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, paving the way for an end to the 15-month conflict.
The head of the US negotiator in the negotiations to end the war, Brett McGurk, said that the White House hopes that the ceasefire will begin on Sunday morning, and three female slaves will be released from Israel on Sunday afternoon through the Red Cross.
The Israeli Ministry of Justice on Friday released a list of 95 Palestinian prisoners to be released in the first exchange on Sunday.
“We've locked down everything in the deal. We're confident … it's ready to be implemented on Sunday,” McGurk said in a televised interview from the White House.
After Sunday's release of the captives, McGurk said the agreement is calling for the release of four other female captives seven days later followed by the release of three other prisoners every seven days after that.
Despite the ceasefire agreement announced on Wednesday by mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the US, Israel's attack on Gaza has continued with around 120 Palestinians killed since then.
War-torn Gaza should also see an increase in humanitarian aid. Aid trucks stopped on Friday on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing into southern Gaza.
An Egyptian official said Israeli delegations from the army and Israel's internal security agency Shin Bet arrived in Cairo on Friday to discuss the reopening of the Rafah crossing.
Israeli forces will return to most of Gaza during the first ceasefire and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians will be able to return to their remaining homes in the northern part of the territory.