Middle East latest: Israel's full Cabinet approves the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal

Israel's Cabinet has approved the Gaza ceasefire deal that would pause the fighting and release dozens of hostages held by militants, along with Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

The approval came early on Saturday after a marathon session by the full Cabinet. The prime minister's office has said that once the deal is approved, the ceasefire could start on Sunday with the first hostages released. This would be just the second ceasefire achieved in 15 months of war.

Under the deal, 33 hostages are set to be released over the next six weeks, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The remaining hostages, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first. The Hamas militant group has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.

As many as 95 Palestinian prisoners are set to be released during the first stage of the ceasefire, Israel's Justice Ministry says.

Israel's war against Hamas has killed over 46,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It does not say how many of the dead were militants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

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Here's the latest:

JERUSALEM — Israel's Justice Ministry has published a list of over 700 Palestinian prisoners who are to be released under the ceasefire deal pausing the war with Hamas militants in Gaza.

The list was published early on Saturday, just hours after Israel's full Cabinet approved the ceasefire deal, under which militants in Gaza will release dozens of hostages in exchange for Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The Justice Ministry said the Palestinian prisoners would be released no earlier than 4 p.m. local time on Sunday, the day the exchange is set to begin. The list includes members of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups, some of whom are serving lifetime sentences and are convicted of serious offenses such as murder.

The list did not appear to include Marwan Barghouti, the 64-year-old Palestinian who is the highest-profile prisoner held by Israel and seen by many Palestinians as a prime candidate to become their president in the future. He was a leader in the West Bank during the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s.

Hamas has demanded that Israel release him as part of any ceasefire agreement, a possibility Israeli officials have ruled out.

UNITED NATIONS — Israeli forces are continuing construction in the buffer zone established by a 1974 ceasefire agreement between Syria and Israel and have set up communications equipment and roadblocks, a U.N. official says.

Major General Patrick Gauchat, the acting head of the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNDOF that's patrolling the area, says the force has told Israel that its presence and actions violate the agreement.

Israel entered the area, saying it's temporary to prevent it from being occupied by armed militants in the wake of the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad last month that halted the country's 13-year civil war.

The area's residents want Israeli forces ''to leave their village centers and lift roadblocks impacting their agricultural work,'' Gauchat said.

Israeli Cabinet approves deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages

The deal was approved by the full Cabinet shortly after 1 a.m. on Saturday. The hourslong meeting went well past the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath, a sign of the moment's importance. In line with Jewish law, the Israeli government usually halts all business for the Sabbath except in emergency cases of life or death.

It brings Israel and Hamas a step closer to ending their deadliest and most destructive fighting ever. The ceasefire — just the second achieved during the war — is expected to begin on Sunday.

Mediators Qatar and the United States announced the ceasefire on Wednesday, but the deal was in limbo for more than a day as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted there were last-minute complications that he blamed on the Hamas militant group.

The Lebanese army sig

nificantly expanded its footprint since the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, UN says

Jean-Pierre Lacroix spoke to the U.N. Security Council in a video briefing from Beirut on Friday.

He said Lebanese troops have moved into 93 locations in the south since the ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group began on Nov. 27. That's up from an estimated 10 locations south of the Litani River at the time of the truce, he said.

As part of the government's plan to deploy an additional 6,000 troops to the south, he said, 262 new recruits have arrived, another 673 are undergoing training and an additional 600 are undergoing pre-recruitment screening.

Lacroix echoed U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is also visiting Lebanon, in urging Israeli forces to withdraw without delay.

The Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire gave Israeli forces and Hezbollah two months to leave southern Lebanon and hand over control to the Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers.

Israel has said its actions are targeting Hezbollah assets and personnel, Lacroix said, but the presence of Israeli forces in Lebanon is a violation of the Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

Palestinian leaders in the West Bank assert they're ready to take ‘responsibility' in Gaza

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian leaders who administer parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank say they're ready ''to assume full responsibility'' in the Gaza Strip, according to a statement reported by the official Wafa news agency.

President Mahmoud Abbas' office said the Palestinian Authority's administrative and security agencies had finished preparations to restore critical services in Gaza, which has been controlled by Hamas.

But there's still no plan for who will govern Gaza after the war.

The Palestinian Authority controlled Gaza before Hamas violently expelled it in 2007, a year after winning an landslide victory in Palestinian elections.

UNRWA is determined to keep working in Gaza despite Israeli ban

UNITED NATIONS — The head of the U.N. agency supporting Palestinian refugees says it is determined to keep working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank after an Israeli ban on its operations takes effect Jan. 30.

Philippe Lazzarini told reporters Friday that shutting down the agency known as UNRWA would ''massively weaken the international humanitarian response'' in Gaza.

That's because UNRWA is the only body capable of providing essential health care and education in Gaza, he said, which will be especially needed once the ceasefire takes effect.

Established in 1949, UNRWA offers support to the 6 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants around the Mideast.

Right now, nearly all of the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza rely on the agency for primary health care, and its 650,000 children depend on UNRWA for education. Lazzarini said ending ending UNRWA's operations would be ''catastrophic.''

Putin welcomes the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday welcomed the Gaza ceasefire deal and said he hopes it will hold.

This was the first time Putin has commented publicly on the agreement since mediators announced it earlier this week. Putin spoke after meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, and said they touched on the Gaze ceasefire during their talks at the Kremlin.

''At the same time, it is important not to weaken efforts to comprehensively resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the generally recognized international legal basis,'' he said, ''which provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state existing in peace and security with Israel.''

Israeli military says it's getting ready to pull back from parts of Gaza

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said troops stationed inside Gaza are preparing for the implementation of the ceasefire, which is expected to begin Sunday.

During the ceasefire, the Israeli military will gradually withdraw from certain locations and routes within the Gaza Strip.

However, the military said it will not allow Palestinian residents to return to areas where Israeli troops are stationed, or near the border with Israel.

US sanctions a bank in Yemen for alleged support to Houthi rebels

WASHINGTON — The U.S. on Friday imposed sanctions on Yemen-based Yemen Kuwait Bank for its alleged financial support to the Houthis, which the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization.

''The Houthis rely on a few key financial institutions like Yemen Kuwait Bank to access the international financial system and finance their destabilizing attacks in the region,'' said Bradley T. Smith, Treasury's acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

2 Americans are detained in Lebanon on suspicion of spying on Hezbollah, officials say

BEIRUT — Lebanese authorities are holding two U.S. citizens on suspicion of gathering information in an area controlled by the militant group Hezbollah south of Beirut, officials said Friday.

A U.S. Embassy official, when asked whether two Americans have been detained in Beirut, responded by saying: ''We are aware of the case but have nothing further to add.''

All four officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the security matter with the media.

Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar first reported about the detention, saying two Americans in their early 30s were detained Tuesday at a shawarma restaurant close to a compound run by Hezbollah. Al-Akhbar said the two men entered Lebanon on Monday, rented a car and were staying at a hotel in central Beirut.

The Lebanese judicial and security officials said the men went for two days to eat at restaurants in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Iran-backed Hezbollah has deep support among the Shia community in Beirut's southern suburbs and in the country's south — areas that Israel repeatedly bombed last fall during the war with Hezbollah. A shaky ceasefire has been in effect since late November.

By Bassem Mroue

Full Israeli Cabinet now meeting on ceasefire deal

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's office says the meeting of the full Cabinet has begun on Friday evening. The Cabinet is expected to approve the ceasefire, which could start as soon as Sunday.

The ceasefire has drawn fierce resistance from Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners, but their objections could destabilize his government. The full Cabinet meeting follows one by the security Cabinet, which recommended approval.

Israel publishes list of Palestinian prisoners to be released

There are 25 male prisoners set for release, all under age 21, and 70 female prisoners. The youngest to be released are 16 years old. The prisoners were accused of crimes like incitement, vandalism, supporting terror, terror activities, attempted murder or throwing stones or Molotov cocktails.

One of the most well-known prisoners on the list is Khalida Jarrar, a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who has been in and out of Israeli prison in recent years. Human Rights Watch has called Jarrar's arrests part of Israel's wider crackdown on non-violent political opposition.

Israel's Prison Services said it would carry out transportation of the prisoners instead of the International Committee of the Red Cross, to avoid ''public expressions of joy.'' The ICRC handled transport during the first ceasefire.

Lists of prisoners are published to also allow members of the public to petition Israeli courts against the release of a specific prisoner. Petitions can be submitted up until the prisoners are released, a Justice Ministry spokesperson said.

Israeli security cabinet recommends approval of ceasefire for Gaza; deal now goes to full cabinet

The deal will now go to the full cabinet for approval before the ceasefire goes into effect. The prime minister's office said that if a deal is passed, the ceasefire could start Sunday with the first hostages released.

The vote came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said earlier there were last minute snags in finalizing a ceasefire that would pause 15 months of war. However, a pre-dawn statement Friday appeared to clear the way for Israeli approval for the deal.

The deal would pause the fighting and see dozens of hostages released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. It would also allow hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to the remains of their homes in Gaza.

UN chief Guterres says Israel must withdraw from Lebanese territories

BEIRUT — The U.N. chief says Israel must withdraw from Lebanese territories and stop conducting military operations inside Lebanon that violate the U.N. Security Council resolution that halted the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.

Speaking about military operations by Israeli troops inside Lebanon since a 60-day truce went into effect on Nov. 27, Guterres said: ''They must stop.''

Guterres said the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL has uncovered over 100 weapons caches belonging to Hezbollah or other armed groups since the ceasefire.

He reiterated that Lebanese government forces as well as U.N. peacekeepers are the only sides who should have armed presence south of the Litani river near the border with Israel. He said the presence of other forces, an apparent reference to Hezbollah, ''undermine Lebanon's stability.''

Medical staff in Israel prepare for hostages' return

TEL AVIV — As Israel prepares for the return of hostages, medical staff say they're concerned about how long people have been in captivity.

Around 100 hostages, a mix of civilians and soldiers, remain captive inside Gaza. They include around a dozen foreign nationals from Thailand, Nepal and Tanzania. The military believes at least a third of the remaining hostages — and up to half of them — are dead.

Under phase one of the ceasefire, 33 hostages are set to be released as early as Sunday.

Dr. Mizrahi said staff are also preparing to assist people with their mental health and have had training sessions on how to deal with the various situations that could impact the hostages.

Meanwhile families and friends of the hostages are waiting anxiously for their loved ones to return.

In a Tel Aviv square now known as Hostages Square because it's become a gathering place for families and supporters, dozens of people gathered Friday to hear the families speak, chanting ''you are not alone!''

WHO official: Not finalizing ceasefire deal would be devastating for humanitarian efforts

GENEVA — The top World Health Organization official for Palestinian areas says any failure to finalize a Gaza ceasefire would be ''utterly devastating'' and crimp humanitarian efforts for the war-ravaged territory.

Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for Occupied Palestinian Territories, said that thousands of trucks are waiting to enter Gaza from Egypt, as well as from Jordan and elsewhere.

Under the ceasefire agreement — which is awaiting approval from Israel's security cabinet and government — aid entry to Gaza is to be ramped up to hundreds of trucks a day of food, medicine, supplies and fuel to alleviate the humanitarian crisis. That is far more than Israel has allowed in throughout the war.

Just 40 to 50 aid trucks a day have entered the territory in recent weeks.

Peeperkorn cited a need for generator parts and generator oil that have not been allowed into Gaza.

He said it was his ''assumption'' that the three phases of the ceasefire process would take place in Gaza, and ''it would be it would be utterly devastating if it is not going to happen.''

Macron: 2 French-Israeli nationals will be among first hostages to be released under deal

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron says that French-Israeli nationals Ofer Kalderon and Ohad Yahalomi are on the list of 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the draft Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.

''We are working tirelessly to ensure they are reunited with their families,'' he said in a message on X.

The agreement has not yet been approved by Israel's security cabinet and government.

Macron was on a visit to neighbouring Lebanon on Friday, where he was to meet the crisis-hit country's newly elected leaders, as the nation attempts to recover from the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.

Israel's security cabinet meets to decide on ceasefire deal

JERUSALUM — Israel's security cabinet convened Friday to decide whether to approve a deal that would release dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza and pause the 15-month-war.

If the cabinet approves, the deal will then go to the government for final sign-off before the ceasefire goes into effect.

Friday's meeting comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said earlier there were last minute snags in finalizing the agreement. Israel had delayed a security cabinet vote Thursday, blaming the dispute with Hamas for holding up approval. However, a pre-dawn statement appeared to clear the way for the deal to be voted on by the security cabinet.

Netanyahu said he had instructed a special task force to prepare to receive the hostages returning from Gaza, and that their families were informed the deal had been reached. The Prime Minister's office said that if a deal is passed, the ceasefire could start Sunday with the first hostages released.

Netanyahu says Israeli officials have reached a deal to return hostages after last-minute snags

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early Friday that a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached.

The announcement came a day after Netanyahu's office said there were last minute snags in talks to free hostages in return for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.