Israeli security cabinet to vote on Hamas deal

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).