Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that an agreement has been reached regarding the return of people held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The announcement came a day after Netanyahu’s office said talks to free hostages in exchange for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners hit last-minute snags.
Netanyahu said he would call a meeting of the Security Cabinet on Friday to approve the deal and then the government would approve the deal. Israel had postponed the cabinet vote on Thursday on the long-awaited ceasefire agreement.
Under this agreement, the war in Gaza Strip will be stopped and the release of dozens of hostages will be ensured. Meanwhile, at least 72 people were killed in Israeli strikes in war-torn areas.
Prime Minister Netanyahu blamed a last-minute dispute with Hamas for the delay in approving the deal, as growing tensions within Netanyahu’s government coalition threatened the agreement’s implementation.
A day earlier, US President Joe Biden and key mediator Qatar had announced that the agreement had been completed. Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. After this, Israel launched retaliatory attacks, in which according to Palestinian health officials, more than 46 thousand Palestinians were killed.
