CAIRO

Technical meetings began in Cairo on Friday to finalize mechanisms for implementing the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement, expected to take effect Sunday.

Qatar on Wednesday announced that along with Egypt and the US as mediators, the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel had been approved. The initial phase, lasting 42 days, includes the release of 33 Israeli detainees in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Egyptian news channel Al Qahira News said representatives from Egypt, Qatar, the US, and Israel participated in the technical discussions, though further details were not disclosed.

The Israeli security cabinet has approved the deal, the prime minister’s office said on Friday, paving the way for the government’s final approval. Israel’s Justice Ministry will then publish a list of Palestinian prisoners slated for release.

Israel has killed more than 46,000 people in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, displaced most of the population and left much of the enclave in ruins. Despite the truce, Israeli attacks on Gaza have continued, according to local authorities.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio