Israel’s security cabinet is set to meet on Thursday to vote on a ceasefire agreement with Hamas that includes a phased release of hostages from Gaza and Palestinian prisoners from Israel.
The deal, confirmed by three US officials and a Hamas official to Associated Press, would also allow hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to their homes in Gaza and facilitate increased humanitarian aid to the territory.
The Israeli security cabinet will convene at 0900 GMT on Thursday, with a majority of ministers expected to approve the agreement, a government official told Reuters.
US President Joe Biden is preparing to address the breakthrough agreement on Thursday, officials said.
The agreement comes after negotiators resolved a last-minute disagreement over the Philadelphi corridor, according to CBS News.
The implementation of the ceasefire is expected in the coming days, a US official said.
The conflict, which began after Hamas’s October 7 attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel and saw 251 taken hostage, has claimed more than 46,700 Palestinian lives, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. Israel has also killed around 3,000 in Lebanon and Syria, while around 3 million people have been displaced from their homes as a result of the war.
According to Israel, 94 hostages remain in captivity, with 34 presumed dead. Four additional Israelis were abducted before the war, two of whom are deceased.
Experts, governments, United Nations agencies, and non-governmental organisations have accused Israel of carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people.
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