Agreement on the Release of 50 Israeli Hostages; Israeli Cabinet Unanimously Votes for 'Temporary Ceasefire with Hamas'

In an unprecedented vote early Wednesday morning, the Israeli cabinet approved an agreement for the release of about 50 hostages who were kidnapped during the terrorist attack on October 7 in Gaza. According to Axios and the Times of Israel, the implementation of this agreement will mark the largest diplomatic breakthrough and the first ceasefire in the war with Hamas since the onset of the Hamas attack on October 7. The vast majority of the 38 government ministers supported this agreement, while representatives from the far-right parties Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism expressed their opposition prior to the meeting. Although the details of the agreement have not been officially released to the public, an Israeli government official told reporters early Tuesday that the agreement is expected to include the release of 50 living Israeli citizens, mostly women and children, in groups of 12 to 13. Israel also agreed to release Palestinian women and minors from prison and return them to their homes, mainly in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. A Palestinian Authority minister said on Tuesday to Al Arabiya that 350 Palestinian minors and 82 Palestinian women prisoners will be freed in this exchange. Israel also agreed to allow additional fuel into Gaza as well as significant amounts of humanitarian aid that had not entered Gaza due to the ongoing war. This meeting, which began Tuesday night and continued until early Wednesday morning, saw all Israeli security agencies - the Israel Defense Forces, Shin Bet, and Mossad - express their support for the agreement.