Israel Cabinet Approves Gaza Ceasefire-Hostage Deal Amid Far-Right Dissent

by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet early Friday approved a U.S.-brokered ceasefire framework that aims to end active hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of all remaining Israeli hostages, despite unified opposition from far-right coalition partners.

Under the plan, the Israel Defense Forces will redeploy to new defensive lines inside the Gaza Strip. Within 72 hours of that repositioning, Hamas is to release all hostages–both living and deceased–through a mechanism coordinated by mediators and the International Committee of the Red Cross, without public ceremonies. Israel, in parallel, will free Palestinian security prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences and approximately 1,700 Gazans detained since October 7, 2023.

Netanyahu hailed the decision as the near-culmination of a central war aim. Flanked by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior adviser Jared Kushner, the premier credited “the extraordinary help of President Trump and his team,” alongside the IDF’s military pressure, for isolating Hamas and driving the agreement forward.

Witkoff and Kushner attended the marathon government session and praised Israel’s military campaign and negotiating posture. Kushner argued the deal “isolates Hamas” and strengthens Israel’s wider regional security posture, citing operations against Hezbollah in the north and deterrence across the theater.

The vote exposed deep fractures inside the coalition. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich led the “no” camp, warning that mass releases of convicted terrorists would endanger Israelis and condemning any notion of “peace with Hamas.” Their parties–Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism–signaled they will remain in the government for now but threatened to bolt if Hamas is not dismantled. Even if both factions depart, Netanyahu’s minority government would not automatically fall; a constructive no-confidence motion would still require 61 MKs to back an alternative government.

According to language circulated around the vote, the ceasefire takes effect immediately upon government approval, with all military operations halted and humanitarian aid flows into Gaza ramped up. A multinational task force led by the United States–with partners including Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey–will oversee implementation. U.S. support will include roughly 200 personnel in Israel to help monitor and coordinate the agreement alongside partner nations, NGOs, and private-sector entities.

Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar (Likud) backed the deal, arguing Israel’s war goals–returning the hostages and crippling Hamas’s ability to govern and attack–are being met. Critics such as Smotrich countered that releasing hundreds of convicts risks empowering “the next generation of terror leadership.”

The coming days are expected to determine whether this fragile ceasefire can hold and whether Israel’s political leadership can withstand the internal pressures it now faces. For families of the hostages, the agreement marks the first tangible hope of reunion after two years of anguish. Yet for many Israelis, the emotional relief is tempered by unease—over releasing convicted terrorists, the future of Gaza’s governance, and the potential resurgence of Hamas once the guns fall silent. As foreign mediators and U.S. envoys work to sustain the truce, the Netanyahu government enters one of its most precarious moments, balancing national security, moral responsibility, and political survival.

Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.