A boy runs with a Palestinian flag atop a mound of rubble at a camp for displaced people in central Gaza

Israeli government votes to approve Gaza ceasefire deal

· RTE.ie

Israel's cabinet approved a deal with Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire and release of hostages in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, a day ahead of the agreement's scheduled start.

In the early hours after meeting for more than six hours, the government ratified the agreement, Mr Netanyahu's office said in a brief statement.

"The Government has approved the framework for the return of the hostages. The framework for the hostages' release will come into effect on Sunday," it said.

Medics in Gaza said an Israeli airstrike early onSaturday killed three people in a tent in the Mawasi area west of Khan Younis in the enclave's south.

This brought to 119 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli bombardment since the ceasefire pact was announced on Wednesday.

Palestinians line up to collect food from a donation center run by volunteers in Khan Younis

Lead US negotiator Brett McGurk said the White House expected the ceasefire to start on Sunday morning, with three female hostages to be released to Israel that afternoon through the Red Cross.

"We have locked down every single detail in this agreement. We are quite confident... it is ready to be implemented on Sunday," Mr McGurk said on CNN from the White House.

Under the deal, the ceasefire starts with an initial six-week phase including hostage-for-prisoner exchanges and could open the way to ending the 15-month-old war.

Thirty-three Israeli hostages, including women,children, and men over 50, were due to be freed in this phase.Israel will release all Palestinian women and children under-19 detained in Israeli jails by the end of the first phase.

The Israeli Justice Ministry released a list of 95 Palestinian prisoners to be freed in the first exchange on Sunday.

After Sunday's hostage release, Mr McGurk said the accords called for four more female hostages to be released after seven days followed by the release of three further hostages every seven days thereafter.

With the accord bitterly opposed by some Israeli cabinet hardliners, media reports said 24 ministers in Mr Netanyahu's coalition government voted in favour of the deal while eight opposed it.

The Israeli security cabinet voted in favour of the ceasefire accord, the first of two approvals required.


Read the latest stories from the conflict in the Middle East


The war between Israeli forces and Hamas has razed much of heavily urbanised Gaza, killed more than 46,000 people and displaced most of the enclave's pre-war population of 2.3 million several times over, according to local authorities.

If successful, a ceasefire could ease hostilities in the Middle East, where the Gaza war spread to include Iran and its proxies - Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthis and armed groups in Iraq as well as the occupied West Bank.