“For more than a year and three months, the IDF has been fighting Hamas and has important achievements – we have defeated Hamas’s military wing and eliminated the organization’s chain of command and its leader, Yahya Sinwar,” Halevi says following a visit to northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun.

Bar also said that the release of terrorists is expected to increase the motivation to carry out attacks in the West Bank.

Nevertheless, Bar admitted that releasing terrorists, some of whom he personally arrested, was "very difficult."

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's adviser Ophir Falk as well as White House Middle East envoy Brett McGurk and the upcoming Donald Trump administrations Middle East envoy pick Steve Witkoff w

According to Yehezkeli, the deal signifies that “Hamas moves forward in Gaza,” highlighting Israel’s inability to alter the region’s dynamics. Micha Kobi, a former official in Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, labeled the agreement as “one of the worst deals Israel has ever made,” according to Al Mayadeen.

A delegation from the Israeli military and the Shin Bet (Shabak) is scheduled to arrive in Cairo on Friday, according to Al-Qahera News TV channel correspondent in the West Bank.

Under the deal, 33 Israeli hostages are set to be released over the next six weeks, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.View on euronews

A peace deal would put an end to more than a year of fighting, during which tens of thousands of people have been killed

The deal now goes to the full Cabinet of ministers for final sign-off. It is expected to OK the ceasefire, which could start as soon as Sunday.

Israel’s security Cabinet approves of the Gaza cease-fire, which would pause the war with Hamas and release dozens of hostages.

The deal now goes to the full Cabinet of ministers for final sign-off. It is expected to OK the ceasefire, which could start as soon as Sunday.