Breaking: Israel and Hamas sign hostage-ceasefire deal after mediators iron out final kinks

Touting his own role in the negotiations, Trump claims Biden did nothing to secure Gaza ceasefire agreement, says ‘it’ll be great’ when the Israeli captives are freed
PM’s office: Security cabinet to meet Friday, government will approve deal on Saturday

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has confirmed that the Israeli and Hamas negotiating teams have signed a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Doha.

A statement from Netanyahu’s office said the PM has convened a security cabinet meeting for tomorrow in order to hold a vote on the deal.

“The [full cabinet] will later convene to approve the deal,” the statement added without specifying whether that vote will also be held Friday or on Saturday, as an Israeli official earlier told The Times of Israel.

The Israeli negotiating team called Netanyahu moments ago to inform him the deal was reached, with the premier thanking them for their efforts.

The families of the remaining 98 hostages have also been updated, according to the statement, which said the PM instructed authorities to work together on preparations for receiving the captives who will be freed as part of the deal.

“The State of Israel is committed to achieving all the goals of the war, including the return of all our hostages — both the living and the dead,” Netanyahu’s office adds.

PM’s office: Security cabinet to meet Friday, government will approve deal on Saturday

Meanwhile, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, the Prime Minister has convened a security cabinet meeting for Friday – today, January 17 – in order to hold a vote on the deal.

The full cabinet meeting is not slated to take place until Saturday night, though, a Netanyahu spokesperson said, explaining that opponents of the deal must be given 24 hours to petition the High Court of Justice and a Friday afternoon meeting would not provide them with enough time to do so because many of them are religious and observe the Sabbath.

While the security cabinet is waiting for Israel’s negotiating team to return from Doha to hold the meeting, it was not clear why both the security cabinet and full cabinet could not still be convened before sundown on Friday.

Holding the full cabinet meeting on Saturday means the 24-hour grace period for petition filing won’t conclude until late Sunday, meaning the deal won’t come into place until Monday — a day after originally slated. The first three hostages who were supposed to be released on Sunday will have to wait an extra day.

The Israeli negotiating team called Netanyahu moments ago to inform him the deal was reached, with the premier thanking them for their efforts.

“The State of Israel is committed to achieving all the goals of the war, including the return of all our hostages — both the living and the dead,” Netanyahu’s office added. (ToI)