Netanyahu bars ministers from commenting on Gaza hostage deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed government ministers not to comment publicly on the Gaza conflict settlement until all hostages held by militants have been released.

The directive will remain in place until the full plan to return both living hostages and the bodies of those who have died is implemented, Caliber.Az reports per Israeli media.

This is intended to form the first stage of a broader peace settlement in the Palestinian enclave.

Israel’s government ratified a ceasefire with Hamas on Friday, paving the way to suspend hostilities in Gaza within 24 hours and free Israeli hostages within 72 hours.

The cabinet approved the deal roughly a day after mediators announced the agreement, which includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a phased withdrawal of Israeli troops under U.S. President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the two-year war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the approval on his English-language X account, noting it covers “all of the hostages – the living and the deceased.” Twenty hostages are believed alive, 26 presumed dead, and two remain unaccounted for, with Hamas warning that retrieving the bodies may take longer.

The agreement is seen as a major step towards ending a conflict that has killed over 67,000 Palestinians and drawn in regional actors including Iran, Yemen, and Lebanon. Following the ceasefire, aid trucks carrying food and medical supplies will enter Gaza to support civilians displaced by the fighting.

By Aghakazim Guliyev