Israel-Hamas ceasefire: Israeli Cabinet approves deal

NBC News filmed a crowd of hungry adults and children competing for insufficient supplies of food at a charity kitchen in Khan Younis.

More than two-thirds go away empty-handed, according to one of cooks working there.

Early Saturday, Israel's full Cabinet signed off on the ceasefire deal that is set to see the release of dozens of hostages and bring fighting to an end for the first time in more than a year, the prime minister's office said in a statement.

The ceasefire and release of hostages is set to begin Sunday.

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal will go into effect too late for Akram Abu Ahmed to see his children again.

His family’s sole survivor after an Israeli airstrike, Ahmed was sleeping near Gaza City in the early hours on Thursday after celebrating news of the truce when he heard a loud sound and was thrown into the air.

“Dust and screams surrounded me,” he said, adding that his wife and three of his children were killed, including a daughter whom he said was a doctor.

“Is this what they aim for? Killing doctors?” he said. “This is the question I want you to answer, Netanyahu: Why did you kill my daughter?”

Read full story here.

If all goes as planned, the hostages in Gaza will get their long-awaited freedom at three kibbutzim in Israel that are close to the border of the Palestinian territory, the Israel Defense Forces announced.

"Reception points" have been established at Kerem Shalom, which is also near the Egyptian border; at Re'im, about 30 miles northeast of there; and at Erez, north of the Gaza border.

"At these reception points, the Israeli hostages will be met with IDF representatives, including liaison and welfare officers, as well as doctors, psychologists, and mental health specialists," the IDF said.

From there, the newly freed hostages will be taken, either by helicopter or vehicle, to Israeli hospitals that have already been prepared to treat them.

"The purpose of the forward reception points is to create a gradual transition and provide initial care by professionals before the hostages are reunited with their families at the hospital," the IDF said.

In 2023, Hamas transferred a group of 24 hostages from Gaza to Israel via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

Now that the Israeli security Cabinet has approved the Gaza ceasefire, the United Nations aims to launch a 60-day emergency plan to rebuild the Palestinian territory's shattered health care system, which is estimated to cost at least $10 billion.

Only half of the 36 hospitals in the territory are functioning the World Health Organization said in a statement, citing an estimated 664 direct attacks on Gaza's health care infrastructure since October.

The WHO plan calls for "scaling up existing health efforts, setting up temporary medical clinics and restoring essential healthcare services."

“We have ordered temporary prefabricated clinics and hospitals which we will integrate into the existing facilities…integrating existing health facilities as part of that, to expand some needed bed capacity, address urgent health needs and health service delivery,” Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for Gaza. said in a statement.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that, with the ceasefire in hand, his government is ready to assume "its full responsibilities" in Gaza "as it is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territory."

Abbas, in an official statement, also added that the "State of Palestine has legal and political jurisdiction over the Strip, like the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory in the West Bank and Jerusalem."

Abbas also appealed for "urgent humanitarian assistance to enable the Palestinian government to fulfill its responsibilities towards our people, who have been subjected to a war of genocide in the Gaza Strip, and serious Israeli attacks and violations in the West Bank and Jerusalem."

Not mentioned in the Abbas statement was that Hamas, not the Palestinian government, has been the de facto rulers of Gaza since 2007 when it ousted the Palestinian Authority from power.

Israel’s full cabinet (sometimes also referred to as “the government”) has begun meeting to consider the ceasefire-hostage deal, an Israeli official told NBC News. 

It is very rare for the cabinet to meet on Shabbat (the Jewish holy day which runs from sundown on Friday to Saturday sundown) but the meeting is going ahead because of the importance of the deal. It is unclear exactly when the Cabinet will vote to approve the deal but it is expected Netanyahu will have the votes to pass it, despite opposition from far-right ministers. 

The meeting of the full Cabinet comes after the smaller security Cabinet voted to approve the deal earlier today. Israel’s government says it expects the first hostages to be released from Gaza on Sunday.

The bloodshed did not stop immediately after the Gaza ceasefire deal was announced, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

Since Wednesday night, 117 Palestinians were killed, at least 62 of them women and children, said Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense agency.

Israeli attacks, Basal said, have "intensified" since the ceasefire deal was announced. In addition to those killed, another 266 people were injured, he said.

In total, the ministry has reported more than 46,800 deaths and 110,600 injuries since Oct. 7, 2023, when Israel launched its military assault on Gaza after the Hamas terror attacks on southern Israel left more than 1,200 dead.

At least two people were killed in a strike on a tent housing displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis. As relatives mourned, one man told an NBC News team that a ceasefire cannot come soon enough for the people of Gaza.

The IDF says it has begun proceedings against members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, the Haredis, who did not show up at induction centers after receiving draft orders.

In a statement to NBC News, the Israeli military said it would “continue to enforce” Israel’s security service law and “initiate proceedings against service candidates who violate it and fail to report to the enlistment office.”

The IDF has already sent more than 1,000 warrants to individuals, adding that those who received multiple orders “will be considered to be committing an offense of unauthorized absence from service” and would be expected to face “criminal sanctions.” It did not detail what sanctions will be issued.

Haredi men studying in yeshivot, or religious institutions, were originally exempt from military service that is otherwise compulsory for all Israeli citizens. Last June, the high court struck down the exemption as the IDF suffered personnel shortages in the ongoing war.

Some 70,000 Haredi males were listed as eligible for military service this past year. The IDF has said that starting in 2026, there would be no limit to the number of ultra-Orthodox servicemen the IDF is technically able to enlist.

“The IDF is investing great efforts to recruit ultra-Orthodox members under conditions that will enable them to maintain their lifestyle and beliefs,” it added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas as a "victory" of the Palestinian people, according to a statement issued by Hamas on Telegram.

“We congratulate you on this victory and the occupation’s submission to the ceasefire, which comes as a result of the steadfastness and perseverance of the Palestinian people and Hamas fighters throughout 15 months of the occupation’s crimes,” Araghchi said in a phone call last evening with Khalil al-Hayya, deputy head of Hamas' political bureau.

The Iranian foreign minister pledged Iran’s continued support for the Palestinian people as the two leaders discussed the political and field developments in Gaza.

The list includes the names of 95 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, who will be exchanged for 33 Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

It is a partial list, with the complete list expected to be released after the full Cabinet has approved the deal, the Israeli justice ministry said.

Outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in his final press briefing yesterday, said the ceasefire agreement was based on “the proposal that President Biden put out months ago in May.”

Citing the Biden administration's efforts to negotiate the deal's framework and implementation, he said “that’s what got us to this day. Our diplomacy, our deterrence, really isolated Hamas to the point where they finally came to the — came back to the table, got to yes.”

But, he added, it was “very important and very responsible” to involve the incoming Trump administration in the last part of the process.

“It was very important for the parties to know that the Trump administration stood behind the agreement that we’d negotiated and that President Biden put forward,” Blinken said, acknowledging the “very good work” that Steve Witkoff and Brett McGurk did to get the deal over the line.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog welcomed the Israeli security Cabinet’s decision today to approve the ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, saying it would “bring our hostages home.”

“I harbor no illusions — the deal will bring with it great challenges and painful, agonizing moments that we will need to overcome and face together,” Herzog posted on X today, adding that there is “no greater moral, human, Jewish, and Israeli duty” than bringing the hostages home.

The Norwegian Refugee Council told NBC News that it has "not heard specifics of what aid will be allowed" into the Palestinian enclave under the ceasefire agreement.

The NGO currently has 48 trucks of supplies in Egypt waiting to cross into Gaza, with more aid in warehouses waiting to be unloaded.

“We are continuing to push for items that have been denied entry over the last 15 months, including timber and tools which are needed to repair infrastructure and build emergency shelters,” said Shaina Low, spokesperson for the NGO.

"We need a massive scaling up of aid in order to stave off famine, rebuild Gaza’s collapsed health system, and improve shelter and living conditions for displaced Palestinians," she added.

Gadi Moses, who turned 80 while being held captive in Gaza last March, is on the list of 33 hostages expected to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire deal agreed between Israel and Hamas, his niece told NBC News.

Describing her feelings as a "mixture of joy, but at the same time terrifying fear," Efrat Machikawa, said she felt relief knowing her uncle was on the list, but feared what condition he might be in once he is released.

In a phone interview earlier today, the 56-year-old said her family has not received any updates on her uncle's condition for more than a year and he was last seen in a video put out by Islamic Jihad in December 2023. “I just want him to be back and I hope he’s alive,” she added. “It’s just terrible when you don’t know.”

Machikawa said she was "grateful for the Biden administration for the very long period where they tried" to secure a ceasefire deal, but she credited the "Trump effect" with helping push negotiations forward. “I’m full of gratitude to what he did," she said.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister, voted against the ceasefire deal during a vote taken by Israel's security Cabinet today.

“If until yesterday I was horrified by this deal, then today when more and more details are revealed ... I am even more horrified,” he said during the meeting.

Ben-Gvir called on his allies to continue their opposition to the ceasefire during the full Cabinet meeting scheduled for later today. "We can stop this deal, join me, we can stop it,” he said.

Yesterday, Ben-Gvir said he would quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government if it approved the truce and hostage release deal. He called on Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to join him, escalating the threat to Netanyahu's coalition with their far-right parties.

A young boy looks through the shattered remains of a tent after an Israeli strike on an encampment in Khan Younis overnight.Civilians grieve outside a hospital in Khan Younis today, as the bodies of some of the victims of overnight Israeli strikes are carried through the streets.

The Israeli security Cabinet has approved the ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, the prime minister's office said in a statement, a major step toward it taking effect.

"After examining all political, security and humanitarian aspects; and with the understanding that the proposed deal supports the achievement of the war’s goals, the Ministerial Committee for National Security Affairs (Political-Security Cabinet) recommended that the government approve the proposed outline," the statement said.

The deal is now one step closer to implementation and will be presented before the full Cabinet, which is expected to meet later today.

Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker,joins protesters in Tel Aviv last night, holding a large banner which calls on President-elect Donald Trump to secure the release of Israeli hostages after a Gaza ceasefire deal was reached.

President-elect Donald Trump said yesterday that the ceasefire deal would not have happened if not for his team’s involvement in the negotiations.

“No deal would have happened, and the hostages would never have probably seen life again,” he said on the Dan Bongino show. “We changed the course of it, and we changed it fast, and frankly, it better be done before I take the oath of office.”

The Biden administration has acknowledged the positive outcome of the work done by Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy to the Middle East.

Israel has made “no real effort” to investigate the allegations of war crimes leveled against it, the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, said today.

“We’re here as a court of last resort and ... as we speak right now, we haven’t seen any real effort by the state of Israel to take action that would meet the established jurisprudence, which is investigations regarding the same suspects for the same conduct,” Khan told Reuters.

The ICC, in November, issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and his former defense chief Yoav Gallant for a series of human rights abuses. Israel branded the decision as “antisemitic.”

A young Palestinian girl carries a box of dates on her head, as another man rides a cart pulled by a donkey on a misty morning in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza today.

Around 600 aid trucks could be allowed to enter Gaza every day once a ceasefire takes hold, the World Health Organization said today.

“I think the possibility is very much there, specifically when other crossings will be opened up,” WHO representative Rik Peeperkorn told a Geneva press briefing, according to Reuters.

He added that WHO will also plan to take in an unspecified number of prefabricated hospitals to support Gaza’s collapsed health care system.

Two French-Israelis citizens will be among the first hostages to be freed by Hamas when the ceasefire deal comes into effect, President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X Friday.

“Our fellow citizens Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi are on the list of 33 hostages to be freed in the first phase of the Gaza accord,” he wrote. “We remain tirelessly mobilized to ensure their return to their families,” he added.

Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir reiterated his threat to Netanyahu this morning, saying he would quit the government if the Gaza ceasefire deal is approved.

"I love Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and will ensure he continues to serve as Prime Minister. However, I will leave because the signed deal is disastrous," he said in a post on X.

For months, Ben Gvir has staunchly opposed a deal with Hamas, which he said "undoes all war's hard-earned successes, achieved at a heavy cost in blood."

The leader of the World Health Organization urged the Israeli Cabinet to approve the ceasefire and hostage release deal, “and all sides to honor and implement it.”

“We sincerely hope that this agreement marks the end of the darkest chapter in the history of the relationship between the Israelis and the Palestinians,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the group's director-general, said yesterday.

He added that the WHO remained committed to addressing the “acute health needs” of the people of Gaza, and to supporting the rebuilding of the enclave's health system.

“The best medicine is peace,” he said.

Huge blasts were seen over the Gaza skyline from southern Israel early this morning. More than 100 people have been killed in the Palestinian enclave since the deal was announced, the civil defense there has said.

Hamas said this morning in a statement on Telegram that the “obstacles that arose due to the occupation’s failure to abide by the terms of the ceasefire agreement were resolved at dawn today.”

Israel had claimed that it was the militant group behind a "last-minute crisis" in talks, which Hamas denied.

“We renew our greetings to our people in the Gaza Strip and their steadfastness, which had the first credit after God in completing this deal,” Zaher Jabarin, the head of Hamas' Martyrs and Prisoners Office, said in the statement.

The Israeli security Cabinet has begun meeting to vote on the deal with Hamas, a key step toward it taking effect.

"The political-security Cabinet discussion began at the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem. Earlier, there was an operational security situation assessment regarding the implementation of the agreement, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, together with the negotiating team that returned from Doha," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

The Israeli security cabinet is meeting this morning in the first procedural step toward a ceasefire and hostage deal being implemented.

The Israeli prime minister's office has said this morning the ceasefire can still begin on schedule on Sunday, despite delays as the two sides hammered out final details and traded blame.

"Subject to approval by the Cabinet and the government, and the entry into force of the agreement - the release of the hostages can be realized according to the planned outline, in which the hostages are expected to be released as early as Sunday," Netanyahu's office said.

The security Cabinet is voting on the deal this morning, with the full Cabinet set to vote later - tomorrow, per Israeli media - and then time allotted for Israel's Supreme Court to hear any appeals. That had led to suggestions it may be Monday before a truce in Gaza and the release of hostages could begin.

People sit wearing VR headsets in Tel Aviv last night, which reportedly give the user an experience of what it looks like being held hostage in Gaza.

The experience lasts for around four and a half minutes, where you are made to feel as though you have been taken into a room in Gaza and held captive by a terrorist, as gunfire and explosions can be heard close by.

Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, has canceled detention orders in place against settles in the occupied West Bank, saying, "It is better for the families of Jewish settlers to rejoice than for the families of the released" Palestinians.

Katz' comments came as dozens of Palestinians currently in Israeli jails are expected to be released as part of the ceasefire agreement that will also see Israeli hostages held in Gaza freed.

"I have decided to release the settlers held in administrative detention and send a clear message of support and encouragement to the settlement enterprise," Katz said in a statement this morning.

Israeli strikes have killed at least 101 people in Gaza since the ceasefire deal was announced on Wednesday, including 27 children, Gaza’s Civil Defense said.

An additional 264 people were injured, spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said.

Israel has consistently denied targeting civilians in the war, instead accusing Hamas of using them as "human shields."

Among those killed, Basal said, were five people at a home that was hit in central Gaza and nine killed at another home north of Gaza city.

The Israeli security Cabinet will meet today to vote on the ceasefire and hostage release deal reached with Hamas, local media reported, bringing it one step closer to implementation.

The deal must then be approved by the full Cabinet, which is set to meet Saturday, meaning the ceasefire would most likely not take effect until Monday so as to leave sufficient time for any appeals to Israel’s Supreme Court.

The vote was delayed yesterday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of seeking last-minute concessions, which the militant group denied. Netanyahu, who did not provide details of his allegations, later said he had been informed by his negotiating team that agreements on the hostage deal had been reached.

An Israeli official told NBC News that the security cabinet would convene at 10:15 a.m. local time (3:15 a.m. ET). 

• What we know about the Israel-Hamas ceasefire
• The Americans set to be released in first phase of hostage deal
• Gazans express joy and cautious optimism