Audio By Carbonatix
Israel’s government approved a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal after deliberating for more than seven hours early into Saturday.
The vote clears the way for the first pause in fighting in months, and the phased exchange of hostages held by Hamas and its allies for Palestinian prisoners.
Israel says the agreement will go into effect at 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET). Three female Israeli civilian hostages are expected to be released on the first day, according to two US officials.
In comments Saturday just hours before the ceasefire was set to begin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the deal, but also said it could not move forward until Hamas supplied a list of the hostages to be released.
He said Israel reserves the right to resume fighting if the deal falls apart — and would have US backing in doing so.
Israel has maintained its bombardment of Gaza in the days leading up to the ceasefire, killing at least 122 people and injuring 270 others since the deal was announced on Wednesday, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense.
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