A cease-fire and hostage release deal has officially been signed by Israel, Hamas, U.S. and Qatari officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
has been informed of the agreement and has instructed a meeting with his political-security cabinet, which would be followed by a government meeting to approve the plan, his office said in a statement translated from Hebrew to English.
“The families of the hostages were informed a short while ago of the agreements by the Directorate for Hostages, Missing Persons, and Returnees in the Prime Minister’s Office,” the statement said. “Additionally, the Prime Minister instructed the Coordinator for Prisoners and Missing Persons to coordinate preparations for the reception of the hostages upon their return to Israel.”
Netanyahu has directed that the Security Cabinet be convened later Friday.
Originally, the Israeli government was set to vote on the measure on Saturday, which would delay the release of the first three hostages until Monday.
Government officials cited last-minute issues with Hamas for the delay.
Efrat Lachter contributed to this post.
