Hostage release set as Israel approves ceasefire deal

In the early hours of Saturday after meeting for more than six hours, the government ratified the agreement that could pave the way for an end to the 15-month-old war in the Palestinian enclave, which Hamas controls.

As coordinated by the parties to the agreement and the mediators, the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, January 19, local time in Gaza. We advise the inhabitants to take precaution, exercise the utmost caution, and wait for directions from official…— د. ماجد محمد الأنصاري Dr. Majed Al Ansari (@majedalansari) January 18, 2025

"The government has approved the framework for the return of the hostages," Netanyahu's office said in a brief statement.

"The framework for the hostages' release will come into effect on Sunday."

In Gaza, Israeli warplanes have kept up heavy attacks since the ceasefire deal was agreed. 

Medics in Gaza said an air strike on Saturday killed five people in a tent west of Khan Younis in the enclave's south, bringing the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli bombardment since the accord was announced to 119.

After the Israeli cabinet approval, lead US negotiator Brett McGurk said the plan was moving forward on track.

The ceasefire will come into effect at 0630 GMT on Sunday (5.30pm AEDT), the Qatari foreign ministry spokesman posted on X. 

The White House expects three female hostages to be released to Israel in the 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," McGurk told CNN from the White House.

The White House expects three female hostages to be released to Israel on Sunday via the Red Cross. (AP PHOTO)

Under the deal, the three-stage ceasefire starts with an initial six-week phase when hostages held by Hamas will be exchanged for prisoners and detainees jailed in Israel.

Thirty-three of the 98 remaining Israeli hostages, including women, children, men older than 50 and ill and wounded captives, are to be freed in this phase. 

In return, Israel will release almost 2000 Palestinians from its jails.

They include 737 male, female and teenage prisoners, some of who are members of Palestinian militant groups convicted of attacks that killed dozens of Israelis.

The Israeli Justice Ministry published their details early on Saturday, along with the ceasefire agreement, which said 30 Palestinian prisoners would be released for each female hostage on Sunday.

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

Media reports said 24 ministers in Netanyahu's coalition government voted in favour of the deal while eight opposed it, saying it represented a capitulation to Hamas. 

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to resign if it was approved and urged other ministers to vote against it but said he would not bring down the government.

The war between Israeli forces and Hamas has displaced most of the Gaza Strip's population. (AP PHOTO)

His fellow hard-liner, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, also threatened to quit the government if it did not go back to war to defeat Hamas after the first six-week phase of the ceasefire.

After a last-minute delay on Thursday that Israel blamed on Hamas, the Israeli security cabinet voted on Friday in favour of the ceasefire accord, a requirement before the full cabinet vote.

Israel began its assault on Hamas in Gaza after the group's fighters burst into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1200 people and taking 250 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

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 prewar population of 2.3 million several times, according to Gaza authorities. 

Gaza civilians have faced a humanitarian crisis due to hunger, cold and sickness. 

The ceasefire agreement calls for a surge in assistance, and international organisations have aid trucks lined up on Gaza's borders to bring in food, fuel, medicine and other vital supplies.

If successful, the ceasefire could ease hostilities elsewhere in the Middle East, where the fighting has 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.