Israel’s cabinet approves ceasefire and hostage deal

Hamas has accused Israel of unleashing “horrific massacres” in Gaza to “thwart” a ceasefire agreement in the enclave, which was announced on Wednesday and is expected to come into effect on Sunday.

The Palestinian militant group said Israel had launched a “deliberate intensification” of aerial attacks after a ceasefire and hostage release deal was announced in the Qatari capital Doha this week.

At least 111 Palestinians have been killed – including 28 children and 31 women – since the deal was announced, Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense, said on Friday. More than 264 people have been injured, Basal added.

Israeli forces have launched heavy and intense bombardment in central and northern Gaza over the past day. The Israeli military said on Thursday it “conducted strikes on approximately 50 terror targets across the Gaza Strip.” Thursday marked the highest daily death toll in Gaza in 11 days.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, convened his security Cabinet to vote on a ceasefire deal after confirming an agreement had been reached that would pause the 15-month war with Hamas in Gaza, in Jerusalem, on Friday.

The Israeli security cabinet on Friday approved the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal announced in Qatar on Wednesday, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

The 11 voting members of the security cabinet approved the deal with a simple majority vote.

The full, 33-member Israeli cabinet still needs to approve the agreement. That meeting is set to take place at 3:30 p.m. local (8:30 a.m. ET).

Family members and supporters of hostages deliver statements in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday.

The father of one of the Israeli hostages who was kidnapped on October 7 and died in Hamas captivity has said the Gaza deal “comes too late for my son.”

Michael Illouz, the father of Guy Illouz who was kidnapped during the Nova music festival, spoke alongside other members of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum at an event in Tel Aviv Friday.

He welcomed the deal “with joy in my heart for every hostage saved, for every life saved.”

The family members of hostages killed or held captive in Gaza have called for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release agreement to be “fully implemented,” and expressed gratitude to the outgoing Biden administration and incoming Trump administration for securing the long-anticipated deal.

Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said there was finally “hope” she would see her son, adding: “Our role is to do everything to ensure the agreement is fully implemented and secure everyone’s return until the last hostage.”

A total of 33 hostages are expected to be released during the first phase of the agreement, which will last for six weeks. These include female soldiers, children, the elderly and the sick, Qatar’s prime minister said on Wednesday.

Mediators settled the final obstacles to a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas on Friday, according to the Palestinian militant group.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office had said on Thursday that last-minute hurdles were still being resolved at the negotiating table in the Qatari capital of Doha before confirming later in the day that a deal had been agreed.

Remember: The first part of agreement is expected to come into effect on Sunday, following an Israeli cabinet meeting to approve the deal. In the first phase of the deal, 33 hostages held by Hamas and its allies since the October 7 attacks would be released.

The full Israeli cabinet will convene to vote on a ceasefire and hostage deal on Friday, rather than on Saturday as had been previously suggested, CNN has been told.

The 11-member Israeli security cabinet is currently meeting to vote on the agreement.

Once approved in the security cabinet, the full 33-member Israeli cabinet will convene, at 3:30 p.m. local (8:30 a.m. ET).

Israel will release Jewish settlers held under administrative detention in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in response to the government potentially releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as part of the Gaza hostage-ceasefire agreement, the Israeli defense minister’s spokesperson said.

“In light of the expected release of terrorists to the territories of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) as part of the deal for the release of hostages, I have decided to release the settlers detained in administrative detention,” the spokesperson said.

Administrative detention is a controversial legal practice that is usually used by Israeli authorities to detain Palestinians in the West Bank without public charge or trial, often indefinitely and based on classified evidence that is not disclosed to the detainees. In rare instances, the practice has been applied to settlers.

Anti-Palestinian violence by extremist settlers has become a near-daily occurrence in the West Bank.

Remember: More than 500,000 Jewish settlers are living in the occupied West Bank in settlements that are illegal under international law. The West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967, when Israel seized the area from Jordan.

In November, Katz announced that Israel would halt the use of administrative detention against Jewish settlers. At the time, the decision was welcomed by far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who are settlers themselves.

CNN’s Pauline Lockwood contributed reporting.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attends a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq, on December 6.

Iran’s foreign minister has called the Gaza ceasefire deal a “surrender” for Israel and reaffirmed Tehran’s continued support for Hamas, according to a statement from the country’s foreign ministry.

In a phone call on Thursday evening with Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and head of the movement’s negotiating delegation in ceasefire talks, Abbas Araghchi confirmed Iran’s support for the ceasefire agreement and congratulated Hamas on its “victory” against Israel.

He said Hamas’ “resilience compelled the occupying regime (Israel) to surrender and accept the ceasefire agreement and the exchange of prisoners,” the statement said.

In a statement, Hamas said that Al-Hayya thanked Iran, saying the truce was achieved partly due to Iran’s support during the war, particularly Tehran’s two military assaults on Israel last year.

Remember: Iran is one of Hamas’ key regional allies and has provided the group with financial and military support in its fight with Israel.

CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman contributed to this post.

Ohad Yahalomi and Ofer Kalderon

French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that two French-Israelis, Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi, were on the list of 33 hostages set to be released in the first phase of the Gaza agreement.

“We are working tirelessly to ensure that their families are reunited with them,” he added in the post on X.

The first phase of the deal reached in Doha between Hamas and Israel could start Sunday and is expected to last for six weeks.

The office of the Prime Minister in Jerusalem, on Friday.

The first batch of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza could be released as early as Sunday should the Israeli government approve a ceasefire and hostage release deal, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

A scheduled meeting of the Israeli security cabinet started Friday morning to vote on the ceasefire and hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas, which was announced in Qatar on Wednesday. A subsequent full cabinet vote will be required for the deal to take effect.

Remember: If the agreement materializes, Hamas and its allied militant groups are expected to release 33 hostages seized from Israel during the attacks of October 7, 2023. In return, Israel will free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

A meeting with Israel’s security cabinet’s 11 members is underway.

The Friday meeting comes ahead of a wider cabinet vote to approve the deal, expected on Saturday.

Aid workers remain unclear on what exactly will be included in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, particularly in regard to humanitarian access, an aid worker from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) told CNN’s Max Foster Friday morning.

“We’re hearing that we might see 600 trucks of aid a day entering Gaza,” said Gavin Kelleher, humanitarian access manager for Gaza at the NRC, adding that this would be a “massive” increase on what has been seen to date.

“But we’re not exactly clear on how free we will be to move right the way across Gaza from day one, and whether civilians in Gaza will be quickly able to return to Gaza City, which is the priority intention for most people in south and central Gaza.”

Kelleher added that humanitarian workers on the ground in the enclave had long been preparing for a ceasefire. “We expect to see hundreds of thousands of people moving very quickly in different directions, so we’re making preparations for that at the moment.”

He added that they anticipate other challenges, including a significant amount of unexploded ordinance and structurally unsafe buildings.

Remember: The ramping up of humanitarian aid into Gaza to 600 trucks per day was outlined in the deal agreed between Hamas and Israel. A humanitarian official warned Thursday this would be “only a start” in addressing the enclave’s humanitarian crisis.

The ceasefire and hostage release deal is expected to take effect on Sunday.

Relatives of Palestinians those who killed in Israeli attacks mourn after Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Friday.

More than 100 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza following the announcement of a ceasefire and hostage release deal on Wednesday, according to a tally of data from the Gaza Civil Defense. The death toll includes at least 27 children.

Local emergency crews have described scenes of relentless bombardment since Israel and Hamas reached a deal, which is expected to come into effect in the coming days, pending an Israeli cabinet vote to approve the agreement.

Overnight, more than 20 people were killed by Israeli attacks on buildings sheltering people in Gaza, the Civil Defense said Friday.

They included nine people killed after a family home was shelled in Al-Jarn, north of Gaza City, according to Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal.

In Khan Younis, southern Gaza, four people were killed in an Israeli helicopter attack in the early hours of Friday, the Civil Defense said.

Meanwhile, two bodies were recovered from another home in central Gaza after it was struck by Israeli forces, Basal said. Three bodies remained under the rubble, he said.

CNN has contacted the Israeli military for more information about the attacks in Gaza early Friday.

Remember: Israel’s security cabinet will convene Friday to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, according to an Israeli official. The meeting comes ahead of a wider cabinet vote to approve the deal, expected on Saturday.

Displaced Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on Thursday.

A senior official with the United Nations’ Palestinian refugee agency on Friday outlined the scale of the task facing aid workers as they prepare to ramp up their response in Gaza following the agreement of a ceasefire and hostage deal.

More than 15 months of Israeli bombardment has laid waste to the Palestinian enclave, displacing more than 2 million people – often multiple times – and triggered a humanitarian disaster marked by hunger, disease and a lack of medical care.

Speaking to CNN’s John Vause from Nuseirat, central Gaza, Rose said the entry of aid to the strip had been “systematically hindered and constrained,” with the situation compounded by a breakdown in law and order and destroyed roads.

With a ceasefire expected to take effect in the coming days, pending an Israeli government vote to approve the deal, Rose said aid agencies expect hundreds of thousands of people will be on the move back to Gaza City, making logistics and congestion a concern.

Unexploded ordnance hidden under debris is also a major risk for children and civilians, Rose said.

Flow of aid: Some 4,000 aid trucks have been stuck at a border crossing point for months, with two-thirds of all food aid waiting outside the enclave from UNRWA, Rose said.

Rose stressed that the flow of aid must increase from the first day of the ceasefire, which can only happen if trucks are able to come and go safely from cross border points.

“The supplies of aid have been so paltry over the past several months that, in a way, any increase will be a success,” he said, though he added that aid is only one factor in the humanitarian response.

Israel’s security cabinet will convene at 10:15 a.m. (3:15 a.m. ET) on Friday to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, according to an Israeli official.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the security cabinet would meet following the announcement that negotiators had reached a deal in Doha for the hostages’ release.

Eight of the security cabinet’s 11 members are from Netanyahu’s Likud party. National security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, two far-right coalition partners in the security cabinet, have openly opposed the deal.

The security cabinet is likely to vote before Shabbat starts at sundown, before a wider government vote expected on Saturday.

Flags representing the participants of the Group of Seven (G-7) leaders summit at the Borgo Egnazia resort in Savelletri, Italy, on June 13, 2024.

G7 leaders endorsed the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in a statement on Thursday.

The leaders of the Group of Seven largest economies also reiterated their commitment to providing humanitarian aid as long as all parties allow its “safe, rapid, and unimpeded passage,” and reaffirmed support for a “credible pathway towards peace leading to a two-state solution.”

Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on December 9, 2024.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a major political fallout ahead of an expected vote by his security cabinet on the ceasefire and hostage deal reached by the Jewish state and Hamas.

Friday’s scheduled vote precedes an expected wider government meeting to approve the deal, which has met a backlash from some members of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition.

Two far-right parties have threatened to quit the government if the deal goes through – a move that could be the catalyst for the prime minister to lose his majority in the Knesset, or parliament.

Netanyahu has long faced international and domestic pressure to reach a deal to free the hostages and end the war in Gaza. And the looming return of US President-elect Donald Trump to power has only added urgency for the Israeli leader to finally get the deal done.

Here’s a look at the political fallout:

Families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza have been told about the deal reached to secure the release of their loved ones, according to a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office Thursday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the coordinator for the hostages and the missing to prepare to receive those freed upon their return to Israel, the statement added.

The first phase of the deal reached in Doha between Hamas and Israel, announced on Wednesday, includes a pause in the war and the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli custody.

Phase one is expected to start on Sunday and last for six weeks. During the first phase, Hamas and its allied militant groups will release 33 hostages, including female soldiers, children, the elderly, and the sick, Qatar’s prime minister said on Wednesday.

Hamas will release three female Israeli civilians on the first day of the ceasefire and another four on the seventh, according to a document shared by a senior Hamas official.

Hamas and its allies still hold 94 people of the 251 people taken from Israel on October 7, 2023. Of those, at least 34 are dead, according to the Israeli government, though the true number is expected to be higher. More than 150 have already been returned.

Biden appears on MSNBC for a final interview from the Oval Office.

US President Joe Biden was quick to say “no” on Thursday, when asked by MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell in the Oval Office if he has discussed the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostages deal with President-elect Donald Trump.

US officials expect the deal for a pause in fighting in Gaza that will lead to the phased release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners to take effect in the coming days after Israel confirmed Thursday it had reached an agreement with Hamas.

Both Trump and Biden took full credit following the announcement of the ceasefire and hostages deal Wednesday after the two American administrations worked together to mediate the truce.

The cooperation between the two camps was “almost unprecedented,” a senior Biden administration official said after the deal was clinched, made possible by a rare intersection of interests between bitter rivals who both saw an opening following Trump’s election victory.

Israel’s security cabinet is set to vote on the Gaza ceasefire and hostages deal in the coming hours, ahead of a wider government vote Saturday, after the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed a deal had been agreed with Hamas.

US officials have said they are confident the three-phase agreement will go into effect on Sunday, despite the delay by Israel’s cabinet to ratify the agreement.

Since the deal was agreed Wednesday, local emergency crews in Gaza have described a relentless bombardment on the territory by Israel that has killed dozens of people and injured hundreds.

Here’s what to know:

Photographs of people taken hostage by Hamas are displayed in Tel Aviv, Israel on on October 18, 2023.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed that a deal has been agreed upon with Hamas to release the hostages held in Gaza.

Earlier Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wouldn’t comment until all details are finalized.

The agreement, announced by mediators Qatar, the United States, and Egypt on Wednesday, would see a pause in fighting in Gaza and lead to the phased release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

Netanyahu has ordered Israel’s security cabinet to meet on Friday, after which the government will convene to approve the deal.

The implementation of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal “better be done before I take the oath of office,” US President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday, as he reiterated his claim that the agreement would not have been possible without the work of his incoming administration.

Trump has repeatedly indicated he would prefer to avoid inheriting the Israel-Hamas war as he prepares to take office on January 20, and analysts say his impending return to the White House had injected renewed urgency into negotiations on a deal that had effectively been on the table for months.

“If we weren’t involved in this deal, the deal would have never happened. No deal would have happened, and the hostages would never have probably seen life again, but they certainly wouldn’t have been released for a long time,” Trump told The Dan Bongino Show podcast.

Trump and outgoing US President Joe Biden both took full credit following the announcement of the ceasefire deal Wednesday after the two American administrations worked together to mediate the truce.

The cooperation between the two camps was “almost unprecedented,” a senior Biden administration official said after the deal was clinched, made possible by a rare intersection of interests between bitter rivals who both saw an opening following Trump’s election victory.

However, asked by a reporter whether he or Trump deserved credit for the deal, Biden replied, “Is that a joke?”

Biden’s response was “ungracious,” Trump told The Dan Bongino Show.

John Kirby, Biden’s national security adviser, appears on CNN on Thursday.

The White House is confident the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal agreed between Israel and Hamas “will move forward this weekend,” national security adviser John Kirby said Thursday.

Asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper about the newly scheduled Saturday cabinet vote to seal the ceasefire deal in Israel, Kirby said the White House is “aware of these issues and are working through them with the Israeli government.”

The deal is still “on a good path here to start implementation by the end of the weekend,” he added.

“All the parameters have been agreed to. We’ve ironed out these last bit of details that needed to be flattened out and fixed. We believe we’re on a good path here to start implementation by the end of the weekend. So all systems are go right now,” Kirby said. “We are seeing nothing that would tell us that this is going to get derailed at this point.”

Aid trucks at the Rafah border crossing are viewed waiting to cross into Gaza, on Thursday in Egypt.

The ramping up of humanitarian aid into Gaza to 600 trucks a day, as outlined in the ceasefire and hostage release deal agreed between Hamas and Israel, would be “only a start” in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, a UN humanitarian official said.

Security conditions and “criminal gangs” could impact humanitarian agencies’ ability to deliver aid to the battered enclave, the UN’s senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag told CNN’s Becky Anderson on Thursday.

The UN official echoed earlier calls by humanitarian groups for rapid, unhindered, and uninterrupted access to Gaza.

“That means fast processing, visa approvals for staff, the checking of different types of goods, anything that has been [a] bureaucratic impediment,” Kaag said.

Last month, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said only 2,205 aid trucks had entered Gaza in December, or roughly 71 per day.

Yemen’s Houthi militants will stop attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping so long as the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is maintained, the Iran-backed group’s leader said on Thursday.

The Houthis have attacked cargo ships in the Red Sea and launched occasional rocket and drone fire toward Israeli cities over the past 15 months, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Though Israel’s sophisticated air defenses have mostly swatted away Houthi missiles and drones, the militant group’s cargo ship attacks have led to a protracted crisis in the Red Sea’s busy shipping corridor, with some vessels forced to avoid the convenient Suez Canal in favor of a longer trip around Africa.

Israel, in turn, has bombed Yemen and threatened to kill Houthi leaders in retaliation.