Israel set to approve Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal

The Israeli cabinet will meet to give final approval to a deal with Palestinian group Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and release of hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday.

In Gaza itself, Israeli warplanes kept up intense strikes, and Palestinian authorities said late on Thursday that at least 86 people were killed in the day after the truce was unveiled.

With longstanding divisions apparent among ministers, Israel delayed meetings expected on Thursday when the cabinet was expected to vote on the pact, blaming Hamas for the hold-up.

But in the early hours of Friday, Netanyahu's office said approval was imminent.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was informed by the negotiating team that agreements have been reached on a deal to release the hostages," his office said in a statement.

The security cabinet would meet on Friday before a full meeting of the cabinet later to approve the deal, it said.

It was not immediately clear whether the full cabinet would meet on Friday or Saturday or whether there would be any delay to the start of the ceasefire on Sunday.

White House spokesperson John Kirby said Washington believed the agreement was on track and a ceasefire in the 15-month-old conflict was expected to proceed "as soon as late this weekend."

"We are seeing nothing that would tell us that this is going to get derailed at this point," he said on CNN on Thursday.

A group representing families of Israeli hostages in Gaza, 33 of whom are due to be freed in the first six-week phase of the accord, urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to move forward quickly.

"For the 98 hostages, each night is another night of terrible nightmare. Do not delay their return even for one more night," the group said in a statement late on Thursday carried by Israeli media.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier on Thursday said a "loose end" in the negotiations needed to be resolved.

A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said this was a dispute over the identities of some prisoners Hamas wanted released. Envoys of President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump were in Doha with Egyptian and Qatari mediators working to resolve it, the official said.

Hamas senior official Izzat el-Reshiq said the group remained committed to the ceasefire deal.