BREAKING: Israeli security cabinet approves Gaza ceasefire, hostage deal with Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, convened his security Cabinet to vote on a ceasefire deal after confirming an agreement had been reached that would pause the 15-month war with Hamas in Gaza, in Jerusalem, on Friday.
Koby Gideon/GPO/AP

The Israeli security cabinet on Friday approved the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal announced in Qatar on Wednesday, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

The 11 voting members of the security cabinet approved the deal with a simple majority vote.

The full, 33-member Israeli cabinet still needs to approve the agreement. That meeting is set to take place at 3:30 p.m. local (8:30 a.m. ET).

Gaza deal “comes too late for my son,” says bereaved father of Israeli hostage

Family members and supporters of hostages deliver statements in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday. Janis Laizans/Reuters

The father of one of the Israeli hostages who was kidnapped on October 7 and died in Hamas captivity has said the Gaza deal “comes too late for my son.”

Michael Illouz, the father of Guy Illouz who was kidnapped during the Nova music festival, spoke alongside other members of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum at an event in Tel Aviv Friday.

“This deal comes too late for my son, whose life will not be saved, but he can be brought back home to burial here,” Illouz said.

He welcomed the deal “with joy in my heart for every hostage saved, for every life saved.”

The family members of hostages killed or held captive in Gaza have called for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release agreement to be “fully implemented,” and expressed gratitude to the outgoing Biden administration and incoming Trump administration for securing the long-anticipated deal.

Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said there was finally “hope” she would see her son, adding: “Our role is to do everything to ensure the agreement is fully implemented and secure everyone’s return until the last hostage.”

A total of 33 hostages are expected to be released during the first phase of the agreement, which will last for six weeks. These include female soldiers, children, the elderly and the sick, Qatar’s prime minister said on Wednesday.