The Israeli government has approved a new agreement to end the war in Gaza and free prisoners with Hamas, paving the way for it to come into force on Sunday.

The decision came after hours of deliberations that continued into the night. Two right-wing ministers voted against the deal.

The defense minister previously recommended accepting the deal, saying it “helps achieve military objectives”, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

The terms of the agreement will come into force at 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT) on Sunday, the Qatari mediator announced.

Under the deal, 33 Israeli prisoners still held by Hamas in Gaza after the 15-month war will be replaced by hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails in the first six-week phase.

Israeli forces will also withdraw from populated areas of Gaza, Palestinian refugees will be allowed to return home and hundreds of aid trucks will be allowed into the area every day.

Negotiations for the second phase – which should see the remaining prisoners released, the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army and the “restoration of permanent stability” – will begin on the 16th.

The third and final phase will involve the reconstruction of Gaza – which could take years – and the return of the remaining bodies of the captives.

Qatar said the hostages to be released in the first phase would include “women civilians, female soldiers, children, the elderly, and sick and wounded civilians”.

Israel says three hostages are expected to be freed on the first day of the ceasefire, and a small number of hostages are expected to be released regularly over the next six weeks.

The Israeli army launched a campaign to destroy Hamas – which has been declared a terrorist group by Israel, the US and others – in response to an unprecedented attack on 7 October 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 were captured. .

More than 46,870 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the region’s Hamas-run health ministry. Many of the 2.3 million people have also been displaced, there is widespread destruction, and there are severe shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter as a result of efforts to get aid to those in need.

Israel says 94 of those captured are still being held by Hamas, of whom 34 are believed to have died. In addition, there are four Israelis who were abducted before the war, two of whom died.

Before the Israeli government voted on the deal, Culture Minister Miki Zohar of Netanyahu’s Likud party said: “It is a very difficult decision, but we decided to support it because it is important for us to see all our children, men and women return home.”

“We hope that in the future we will be able to complete the project in Gaza,” he said.

But right-wing Defense Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he was “horrified” by the details of the deal, including that “terrorists who have committed their lives” to be freed in exchange for those captured, and urged other ministers to join him in the vote. against it.

On Thursday, Ben-Gvir announced that his Jewish Power party would withdraw from the governing coalition if the deal is approved. But he said he would not topple the government in parliament and would return “if the war against Hamas resumes with full force”.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, another right-wing politician who opposed the deal, said his Religious Zionism party would quit if the war did not resume after the first phase.

The three episodes have also brought division and anxiety among some families of the hostages. They fear that their relatives will be left behind in Gaza after the first phase and are asking the government to ensure that the second and third phases are fulfilled.

“For 469 days our loved ones were left in captivity, and now, there is hope,” said Einav Zangauker, whose 25-year-old son Matan was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

“This agreement must be followed to the end, to bring everyone home and end the war. End the war, bring everyone back and return to Israeli culture.”

A government vote was expected on Thursday, but the meeting was delayed after Netanyahu criticized Hamas for abandoning parts of the agreement – which Hamas opposed.

Earlier on Friday, the Prime Minister’s Office announced that Israel’s negotiating team in Doha had reached an agreement.

Hamas also issued a statement saying that the “obstacles” that had appeared in connection with the deal had been resolved in the early hours of the morning.

A source close to Hamas told AFP that the first three hostages to be released would be women.

On Friday, Israel’s Ministry of Justice published a list of 95 Palestinian prisoners who it says will be among the first to be released in a prisoner exchange. There were 69 women, 16 men and 10 children, according to AFP.

On Friday they met again for a meeting in Cairo to discuss how to implement the deal, an Egyptian official told the BBC.

All necessary arrangements were agreed, including the establishment of a joint working room to ensure compliance, which would include representatives of Egypt, Qatar, the US, Palestine and Israel, the official said.

Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News TV quoted a source as saying they had agreed to facilitate the entry of 600 trucks a day during the ceasefire.

This would require an increase of more than 14 from January which was reported by the UN daily of 43 trucks. But Rik Peeperkorn, representative of the World Health Organization in Gaza, said that “the possibility exists” if the Rafah crossing with Egypt and other crossings are opened.

WHO is also planning to provide a number of pre-planned hospitals to support the damaged health sector. Half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are not functioning, while others are partially functional.

There has been no relief for the Palestinians under Gaza since the announcement of a ceasefire agreement on Wednesday night.

The Hamas-run Civil Defense in Gaza says 117 Palestinians, including 32 women and 30 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since then.

Tamer Abu Shaaban said his teenage grandson was killed by rocket fire while he was playing in the school yard in Gaza City where his refugee family lives.

“Is this the contract he’s talking about?” he told Reuters as he stood next to his body at the mortuary. “What did this girl, this child, do to deserve this?”

The Israeli army said on Thursday afternoon that it had carried out strikes on 50 “terrorists” across Gaza the previous day and had taken steps to minimize civilian casualties.