• List of 95 Palestinians eligible for release issued
• Hamas says obstacles to agreement have been resolved
• Relentless Tel Aviv strikes claim lives of 104 Palestinians since announcement of deal

JERUSALEM: The Israeli security cabinet on Friday appro­ved a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner release deal, while recommending that wider government approval also be sought.

The ceasefire would take eff­ect on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president.

“After reviewing all the poli­tical, security and huma­nitarian aspects, and under­stan­ding that the proposed deal supports achieving the objectives of the war, (the security cabinet) has recommended that the government approve the proposed framework,” Israeli PM Benjamin Netan­yahu’s office said in a statement.

If approved, the agreem­e­­nt would halt fighting and bo­­mbardment in Gaza on Sun­day, followed by the release of prisoners held by Palestin­ians groups since Oct 7, 2023.

Israel “is then expected to release the first group of Pa­­lestinian prisoners, inclu­ding several with high sentences”, the source added.

Hamas said in a statement that obstacles that arose on the terms of the Gaza ceasefire agreement have been resolved.

The Israeli justice ministry published a list of 95 Palestinian prisoners who are to be freed starting Sunday as part of the first exchange for Israeli captives under a Gaza ceasefire deal.

“The release of prisoners is… subject to government approval of the (ceasefire) plan and will not take place before Sunday 16:00 (1400 GMT),” the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

However, Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed dozens of people since the deal was announced.

On Friday, Israeli warpl­an­­es kept up heavy strikes, and medics and rescue authorities said that at least 104 Pa­­l­e­­stinians, including 58 wo­­men and children, had been killed since Wednes­day, taking the overall war death toll to 46,876.

Two sources close to Ha­­m­as told AFP three Israeli women soldiers would be the first to be released on Sunday evening.

Once released they would be received by Red Cross aid workers as well as Egyptian and Qatari teams, one source said.

They would then be taken to Egypt where they would undergo medical examinations and then to Israel, the source said.

Although two far-right ministers had voiced opposition to the ceasefire deal, with one threatening to quit the cabinet, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he believed the ceasefire would go ahead on schedule.

“I am confident, and I fully expect that implementation will begin, as we said, on Sunday,” he said.

Egypt was hosting technical talks on the implementation of the truce, according to state media.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2025