Israel confirmed a Gaza ceasefire had been agreed after a last-minute crisis in talks with Hamas was resolved, with Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet set to vote on the deal on Friday.
U.S.-led mediators announced on Wednesday that the two sides had agreed to a multi-phase deal to stop the 15-month-old war and release 98 hostages still held by Palestinian militant groups.
But Israel's formal approval has been delayed by disagreements with Hamas over the release of Palestinian prisoners and political tensions within Netanyahu's government.
The Cabinet is now expected to approve the deal on Friday, with the entire government meeting and voting on Saturday night after the Sabbath, according to a person familiar with the Israeli government's deliberations.
By law, the Israeli public has the right to appeal to the Supreme Court against the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons as part of the deal, the person added, making it "likely" that implementation of the deal would only begin on Monday.
Mediators had previously believed a ceasefire would take effect and the first three hostages would be released by noon on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also trying to deal with the brewing political crisis in the country, with far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gevir announcing Thursday night that he and his Jewish Power party would be "reckless" if "reckless" will withdraw from the ruling coalition. The transaction is approved.
Ben-Gevir and his ultra-nationalist ally, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have repeatedly threatened to leave Netanyahu if his government accepts a deal to end the war government.
The departure of Jewish forces would give the Prime Minister's Alliance a two-seat majority in the Knesset. It would also put pressure on Smotrich's Religious Zionist party to follow suit and withdraw.
While Ben-Gewell and Smotrich are not considered to have enough support in the cabinet to scuttle approval of the deal, if they both remove their far-right parties from the government, the government will lose its parliamentary majority. Israel's political system does not prohibit a minority government, and opposition parties have said they are prepared to support Netanyahu's coalition if needed.
But losing two allies would shake Netanyahu's power and could lead to early elections.