Gaza woke up on Saturday (January 18) to the news that the Israeli cabinet has approved a deal with Hamas for a ceasefire and release of hostages in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports.
In the early hours of Saturday after meeting for more than six hours, the Israeli government ratified the agreement, which is scheduled to start on Sunday (January 19), that could pave the way for an end to the 15-month-old war in the Palestinian enclave, which Hamas controls.
Under the deal, the three-stage ceasefire starts with an initial six-week phase when hostages held by Hamas will be exchanged for prisoners detained by Israel.
The war between Israeli forces and Hamas has razed much of heavily urbanized Gaza, killed more than 46,000 people and displaced most of the enclave's pre-war population of 2.3 million several times over, according to local authorities.