Israeli security cabinet approves ceasefire deal | 17 Jan 2025 | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet has approved a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas, paving the way for a full cabinet vote later on Friday. The ceasefire is expected to come into effect on Sunday. Under a deal signed on Wednesday, Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed to end their 15-month conflict in Gaza, which has claimed the lives of over 1,100 Israelis and 46,000 Palestinians. The deal, which was mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S., is split into three phases. During the first phase, which is to last 42 days, Hamas said that it expects to release 33 hostages, including children, female soldiers, wounded and sick, in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.