Middle East crisis: Israel delays Cabinet vote to approve Gaza ceasefire deal, US confident it would begin on Sunday

The Israeli negotiators have agreed to the deal but it could be implemented only after the country's cabinet.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was confident that the ceasefire deal would begin on Sunday.

Speaking to the media, Blinken said: "Over 15 months of devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas, we’ve worked to broker a deal that would bring hostages home, that would stop the fighting, that would surge humanitarian aid to people who so desperately need it, that would create the space to conclude a permanent ceasefire."

He said: "We now have that, and we expect implementation of the agreement to begin on Sunday."

He said all steps are being taken to fix the 'loose ends' in the deal.

He said: "It’s not exactly surprising that in a process – in a negotiation that has been this challenging and this fraught, you may get a loose end.  We’re tying up that loose end as we speak."

The Israeli cabinet is scheduled to convene Friday morning to approve the ceasefire and hostage release deal, an Israeli official told CNN.

Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official told the BBC that the group was committed to the agreement announced by the mediators.

The head of Hamas's delegation, Khalil al-Hayya, officially informed Qatar and Egypt of its approval of all the terms of the agreement, the official told the BBC.

Meanwhile, Gaza Civil Defence said Israeli strikes left 86 people killed and 258 others injured since the ceasefire deal was announced.

The deal gains significance particularly just ahead of the January 20 inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

The overall toll in the Israel-Hamas war is more than 46,000 with hundreds of thousands getting displaced and struggling to survive in makeshift shelters.

US President-elect Donald Trump had been vocal about his desire to resolve the crisis at the earliest and warned of severe consequences if the hostages were not released.

In Israel, the return of the hostages is expected to ease public anger against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, who have faced severe criticism for the October 7 security failure that led to the deadliest single day in Israel's history.

The agreement marks a significant shift in the dynamics of the conflict, coming after Israel's successful assassinations of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.