Israel’s full Cabinet on Saturday approved the long-awaited cease-fire deal with Hamas that will halt the fighting in Gaza and allow for the release of dozens of hostages held captive by the terrorist group for 15 months.

The Cabinet signed off on the deal hours after the smaller security Cabinet voted to move forward with the agreement that could open the door to permanent peace in the Palestinian territory.  

The full Cabinet debated for hours into early Saturday and well past the start of the Jewish Sabbath – an emphasis on the importance of the situation — before the high-stakes deal was accepted.

“The Government has approved the framework for the return of the hostages,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement, according to CNN. “The framework for the hostages’ release will come into effect on Sunday, January 19, 2025. Shabbat Shalom.”

The peace agreement comes after negotiators for the Jewish state and Hamas inked the deal in Qatar late Thursday — just hours after several setbacks threatened to upend the agreement entirely.

The approval was delayed slightly by what Israeli officials called a “last-minute crisis” involving government infighting and disagreements between Israel and Hamas over some of the plan’s details.

Eight cabinet members opposed the deal, including ministers from the far-right Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism parties, as well as a pair of ministers from the right-leaning Likud Party, the Times of Israel reported.

The other 24 ministers backed the plan.

The first phase of the three-stage deal is expected to go ahead as planned on Sunday.

Phase one is the most detailed and was said to include:

Under the initial phase, Hamas is set to release 33 Israeli hostages, including all women, children, and men over 50.

Two American hostages, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Keith Siegel, are expected to be released in the first phase of the cease-fire, US officials said. Another American citizen, Edan Alexander, who is also an Israeli soldier, will be released at a later date.

Foreign hostages are also expected to be let go on top of the 33 hostages, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. It was not immediately known which foreign nations will be freed.

Israel, meanwhile, will release all Palestinian women and children under 19 detained in Israeli jails by the end of the first phase.

The Israeli Justice Ministry on Friday released a list of 95 Palestinian prisoners to be freed in the first exchange on Sunday — including 25 male prisoners, all under age 21, and 70 female prisoners.

The youngest to be released are 16 years old.

Here’s how the proposed three phases would work out, according to a current draft obtained by news outlets:<br>

Phase 1

• The first phase will halt fighting for 42 days with 33 Israeli hostages incrementally freed from captivity in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
• On the first day, Hamas released three hostages, which will lead to weekly releases during the initial six-week period.
• Israel will let 30 Palestinians go in exchange for every civilian hostage freed from Gaza, and 50 Palestinian prisoners, for every female Israeli soldier released.
• Israeli forces will pull back, allowing displaced Palestinians to return to their homes.

Phase 2

• If Israel and Hamas reach a further agreement, all remaining hostages are supposed to be freed and in return Israel will completely withdraw from Gaza during this phase.
• Hamas needs to agree to remove itself from power — something it has hinted it is willing to do — but could still be a factor in a future government, which Israel does not want.
• While the draft agreement states a second phase deal must be reached by the end of phase one, Hamas had called for written guarantees that the temporary peace could continue until an agreement is struck.

Phase 3

• The third – and final phase — would entail Hamas trading the bodies of the rest of the remaining hostages in Gaza in return for a 3- to 5-year rebuilding plan in the decimated Palestinian territory under international supervision.

The prisoners were accused of crimes like incitement, vandalism, supporting terror, terror activities, attempted murder or throwing stones or Molotov cocktails.

One of the most well-known prisoners on the list is Khalida Jarrar — a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who has been in and out of Israeli prison in recent years. 

A new list released by the Justice Ministry after the government approved the deal included more than 700 prisoners, the Times of Israel reported. Among the prisoners were terrorists serving life sentences for murder, including from Hamas.

The number of Palestinians released in total will depend on the hostages released by the terrorist group, according to the deal.

The ceasefire accord emerged Wednesday after mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

Prior to the deal being approved, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had claimed that Hamas was backtracking on an earlier understanding about the prisoner release.

Hamas said in a statement Friday that obstacles that arose on the terms of the cease-fire agreement had been resolved.

Phase two of the agreement is set to start 16 days after the start of the cease-fire — and many details presented sticking points for both sides in the negotiation.

In this phase of the de-escalation, the deal calls for Israel to remove all forces from the Gaza Strip — something Israel is unwilling to agree to without assurances that Hamas’ military and political capabilities are fully destroyed.

Phase two also calls for the release of all remaining hostages, including soldiers — a sticking point for Hamas, which says it will not release all of the hostages until Israel removes its troops from Gaza.

Palestinian leaders in the West Bank said Friday they’re prepared “to assume full responsibility” in Gaza, according to a statement reported by the official Wafa news agency.

President Mahmoud Abbas’ office said the Palestinian Authority’s administrative and security apparatus were ready to restore crucial services in the Palestinian enclave that has been under Hamas-control.

Phase three calls for the release of the deceased prisoners held by each side and for a major reconstruction effort to be undertaken in Gaza.

The destructive conflict in Gaza was sparked when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages back into the Palestinian enclave.

The only other pause in fighting — albeit brief — happened in November 2023 during a temporary cease-fire.

News of the new deal was quickly touted by both President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump when it first broke Wednesday.

Biden took exception when a reporter at his news conference Wednesday asked who deserves more credit for the deal — he or Trump.

“Is that a joke? Oh,” Biden said before turning around and walking off the world stage.

The lame-duck president told reporters that the cease-fire is comprised of the same framework the Biden administration proposed in May.

The once-and-future president took to Truth Social to celebrate the peace deal.

“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies,” Trump wrote earlier in the week.

With Post wires