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Approvals in place, Gazaceasefire to begin today
People at a demonstration in London after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire deal. REUTERS
Dr.G.R.Balakrishnan Jan 20 2025 News- General & Other Industries

Approvals in place, Gazaceasefire to begin today

Israel’s cabinet voted to approve a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal on Saturday, 18 Jan ‘25 the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, ending days of uncertainty about whether the truce would go into effect this weekend. The ceasefire, set to begin on Sunday, would halt fighting and bombardment in Gaza’s deadliest-ever war. Later, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will not proceed with ceasefire before receiving list of hostages to be released by Hamas,

The deal would also enable the release of hostages held in the territory since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. “The government has approved the hostage return plan”, Netanyahu’s office said early Saturday morning after the cabinet held its vote. Israel’s justice ministry has said 737 prisoners and detainees will be freed as part of the first phase of the deal — none before 4pm local time (1400 GMT) on Sunday. .

Israeli strikes have killed dozens since the ceasefire deal was announced, with the military saying on Thursday it had hit about 50 targets across Gaza over the previous 24 hours. The truce is to take effect on the eve of the inauguration of Donald Trump, who claimed credit for working with outgoing US President Joe Biden’s team to seal the deal. In Israel, there was joy but also anguish over the remaining hostages taken in the Hamas attack.

Two far-right ministers had voiced opposition to the deal, with one threatening to quit the cabinet, but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said before the vote he believed the ceasefire would proceed. “I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday,” he said.

The ceasefire agreement followed intensified efforts by mediators Qatar, the United States and Egypt after months of fruitless negotiations...Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, announcing the agreement on Wednesday, said an initial 42-day ceasefire would see 33 hostages released. On Friday, he said: “We seek a full implementation of the first phase, and for the second phase to be the final. “We are waiting for the Security Council to issue a binding resolution to implement the agreement.”

Biden said the second phase could bring a “permanent end to the war”. In aid-starved Gaza, where nearly all of its 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once, humanitarian workers worry about the monumental task ahead. “Everything has been destroyed, children are on the streets, you can’t pinpoint just one priority,” Doctors Without Borders coordinator Amande Bazerolle told AFP.