Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Friday that the cabinet has given its approval to U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The plan also includes the release of all remaining hostages and Palestinian prisoners. The statement indicated that the cabinet has endorsed the general framework for the hostage release, with details on other aspects of the plan yet to be revealed. The release of hostages and prisoners is scheduled to commence either on Sunday or Monday.
Steve Witkoff, the chief negotiator for Trump in the Gaza conflict, confirmed that Israeli troops have started withdrawing as part of the ceasefire agreement, as stated by the U.S. military. The countdown for the 72-hour timeframe to release the hostages began at 7 a.m. ET according to Witkoff.
President Trump mentioned during a cabinet meeting on Thursday that the process of releasing the hostages poses challenges due to their difficult locations. The specifics of how the hostage exchange will unfold remain limited at this point.
Within 72 hours of the military’s repositioning, the agreement mandates the release of all 48 hostages from Gaza, including 20 confirmed to be alive. Hamas indicated that the recovery of deceased hostages might take longer since not all burial sites are known. Israel’s hostage coordinator, Gal Hirsch, stated that an international force will aid in locating the remains of any deceased hostages not identified by Hamas.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will oversee the exchange process. The ICRC’s role is to facilitate the safe transfer of released hostages out of Gaza to a predetermined location after all parties in the conflict reach an agreement. The upcoming hostage and prisoner release is expected to be more complex than previous instances due to the scale and pace of the operation.
Hamas is pushing for the release of prominent Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons. However, individuals like Marwan Barghouti, a well-known Palestinian leader imprisoned for over twenty years for deadly attacks, were not included in the list of prisoners published by Israel. The list also excluded figures like Ahmad Sa’adat, Ibrahim Hamed, and Hassan Salameh, but included individuals like Ra’ad Sheikh and Iyad Abu al-Rub.
Of the 250 prisoners scheduled for release, 15 are set to be freed in East Jerusalem, 100 in the West Bank, and 135 are slated for deportation. The process of releasing the hostages and prisoners involves intricate details that are currently being prepared by the ICRC.