The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is poised to begin Sunday, the Israeli government said ahead of a security cabinet vote on Friday as part of the internal process to formally approve the deal covering it and the release of hostages.
The start of the ceasefire will likely allow for the release of three Israeli civilian female hostages on the first day, in exchange for 90 Palestinian children and female prisoners. Those terms were included in the ceasefire agreement that President Biden introduced in May. Biden said on Wednesday the deal matched his spring proposal.
The Israeli government is expected to vote on the deal “later,” but it’s not yet clear if that would be later Friday or Saturday night. Following a government vote, the Israeli Supreme Court would have 24 hours to permit appeals to the deal. Israeli officials expect the ceasefire deal to move through this process and be implemented without delay.
“Pending approval by the Security Cabinet and the Government, and the agreement taking effect, the release of the hostages will be implemented according to the planned framework in which the hostages are expected to be released on Sunday,” the office of the Israeli prime minister said in a statement posted Friday to the social media site X
“The Government will be convened later in order to approve the deal.”
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