Posted on 10/09/25
| News Source: Arutz-7
The government approved early Friday morning the framework for the release of all hostages - both the living and the deceased, the Prime Minister's Office announced.
Ministers Bezalel Smotrich, Orit Strock, Itamar Ben Gvir, Yitzhak Wasserlauf and Amichai Eliyahu voted against the deal. Minister Ofir Sofer from the Religious Zionist Party voted in favor.
Following the government's approval of the agreement, the ceasefire in Gaza has taken effect.
In an unusual move, American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner participated in the meeting for half an hour.
Speaking during the meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "We are at a momentous development in the last two years. We fought during these two years to achieve our war aims. The central one of these war aims is to return the hostages, all of the hostages, to the living and the dead. And we're about to achieve that goal. We couldn't have achieved it without the extraordinary help of President Trump and his team, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. They worked tirelessly with Ron and his team, our team."
He added, "And that and the courage of our soldiers who entered Gaza and the combined military and diplomatic pressure that isolated Hamas, I think, has brought us to this point."
"I want to personally thank both of you, Steve and Jared. It's been long hours. You have worked hard, but not only worked. I think you put in your brains and your hearts. And we know that it's for the benefit of Israel and the United States, for the benefit of decent people everywhere, and for the benefit of these families who will finally get to be with their loved ones. And I want to thank you on their behalf as well, and on behalf of the people of Israel. Thank you," said Netanyahu.
Kushner said, "Obviously, bringing the hostages home has been a priority for President Trump for a very, very long time. And we've all worked very tirelessly to do that. But I really want to say that this all would not have been possible without the bravery of the IDF and the soldiers, what they've accomplished not just in Gaza, but also what they've done over the last couple of years to eliminate Hezbollah in the north and really degrade them, what you were able to do in Iran. It really helped set a big tone."
He added, "But particularly seeing the way that your citizen army, I know a lot of you, probably all of you have family, friends who were in this effort, really put your sacrifices on the line to fight for your country and to try and make a difference. I think that made a very, very big difference in there."
Kushner continued, "And I want to just give a very, very special thanks to Prime Minister Netanyahu, who really did an incredible job with this and did a great job with the negotiations. You held your lines firm. And I think that between you and President Trump, you had a lot of alignment on what the end state should be."
Witkoff also spoke at the meeting and said, "The hard job was the prime minister's. He had the job of protecting this country. He had the job of making tough choices with regard to how tough to be with Hamas, when to be flexible, when not to be flexible. I think to myself all the time, I lost sleep over it, what would I have done in some of those circumstances?"
Witkoff acknowledged that "there were times that I thought we should be more flexible or your country should be more flexible. But the truth is, as I look back, I don't think we get to this place without Prime Minister Netanyahu playing it out."
He stressed, "And I'm not just saying that. They're not just words. The president believes that. My president believes it. He believes that Prime Minister Netanyahu made some very, very difficult calls. And lesser people would not have made those calls. And here we are today because Hamas had to. They had to do this deal. The pressure was on them. They were backed up. And you've got the bigger army. You were making inroads. And that's what led to this deal."
Prior to the meeting, Witkoff and Kushner met with Netanyahu in the Prime Minister's office. They had arrived in Israel on Thursday evening from Egypt, where they had attended talks in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Earlier on Thursday evening, the Security Cabinet met to discuss the hostage deal, with the participation of negotiation team members who had returned to Israel.
The government is expected to approve the release of terrorists from Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of hostages, as part of the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan. At this stage, the remaining components of the deal will not be approved.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Knesset Member Itamar Ben Gvir announced that they will vote against the deal in the government meeting.
Earlier, the Prime Minister's Office announced that Prime Minister Netanyahu has determined that the name of the operation to free the hostages will be called Shavim L'gvulam (Returning to their Border), a reference to Jeremiah 31 verse 16, which prophesies the return of the Jewish people from exile.
Following government approval, the IDF will begin its withdrawal to a line determined in coordination with Hamas under the plan. Israel is committed to completing the withdrawal within 24 hours. Although the line has not been officially released, an Israeli source stated that it is similar to the “yellow line” published by Trump over the weekend, with several adjustments agreed upon with Israel.
As part of the withdrawal, the IDF will leave Gaza City, which it recently entered during Operation Gideon's Chariot's 2. Israel will continue to maintain control over 53% of the Gaza Strip.
Once the withdrawal is completed, a 72-hour countdown will begin, during which Hamas is required to release the hostages without public ceremonies. According to estimates, the living hostages are expected to be released on Sunday and the deceased on Monday.
On Sunday, President Trump is expected to land in Israel and deliver a speech in the Knesset.
Under the plan, the steps will also include the release of 250 security prisoners, 1,700 Gaza residents who were not involved in the October 7 events but were arrested afterward, and 22 minors under the age of 18 from the Gaza Strip. Additionally, 360 bodies of terrorists will be returned.
According to the decision, security prisoners convicted of murder, manufacturing weapons used in murders, or directly involved in sending attackers who carried out deadly attacks will be released to Gaza or abroad and will be immediately barred from entering Israel or the territories of Judea and Samaria.