JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The Israeli government ratified the Gaza ceasefire and hostage return deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, after a cabinet meeting that lasted more than six hours and ended in the early hours of Saturday.
Under the deal, bitterly opposed by some cabinet hardliners, a six-week ceasefire is due to take effect on Sunday, with the first of a series of hostage-for-prisoner exchanges that could open the way to ending the 15-month war in Gaza.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie and Alex Cornwell; Editing by Chris Reese)