Israeli Security Cabinet Gives Nod to Gaza Deal

The Israeli security Cabinet approved a ceasefire deal on Friday, paving the way for the return of the first hostages from Gaza as early as Sunday and bringing a halt to 15 months of conflict that have devastated the coastal strip.

- Reuters

JERUSALEM/CAIRO:

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.

If successful, a ceasefire could also ease hostilities in the Middle East, where the Gaza war spread to include Iran and its proxies - Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthis and armed groups in Iraq as well as the occupied West Bank.

In Gaza itself on Friday, Israeli warplanes kept up heavy strikes, and medics and rescue authorities said that at least 104 Palestinians, including 58 women and children, had been killed since the deal was announced on Wednesday.