Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Friday that an “agreement to release the hostages” had been reached and he ordered a convening of the political-security cabinet later in the day.
“The negotiating team informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a deal to release the hostages has been agreed upon,” his office said in a statement.
His office on Thursday accused Hamas of reneging on key parts of the agreement to extract concessions at the last minute – a charge Hamas denies.
“The prime minister ordered the political-security cabinet to convene tomorrow (Friday). The government will then meet to approve the deal,” Netanyahu’s office said.
It said the families of the hostages have been informed and preparations are being made to receive them upon their return.
If approved by Israel’s cabinet, the ceasefire agreement would begin on Sunday and would include the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be finalized.
Mediators Qatar and the United States announced this on Wednesday.