Tel Aviv has approved a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held in the enclave, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced.
"The government has approved the agreement to return the abductees. The agreement to release the hostages will come into effect on Sunday, January 19“, the statement said.
According to the Walla portal, 24 members of the government voted in favor of the deal, 8 were against. The government meeting began on Friday evening and lasted more than six hours. The portal notes that ministers from the ultra-Orthodox parties have left notes indicating how they will vote, since the agreement was not approved before Shabbat, a holy day of rest in Jewish tradition. It began on January 17 at 16:20 local time and will continue until Saturday evening.
On Friday, Israel's military-political cabinet, which includes key ministers, approved a proposal to the government to approve the agreement to release the hostages. The meeting of the military-political cabinet lasted six and a half hours, the portal Ynet notes.
On the same day, the Israeli Ministry of Justice published a list of the names of 95 Palestinian prisoners who will be released from Israeli prisons in the first stage of the deal. The ministry added that “the release of prisoners will begin no earlier than 4:00 p.m. on January 19. The list of names of Palestinian prisoners has been published so that Israelis affected by their actions can file claims against their release in the Israeli Supreme Court.