Israel's security cabinet will meet on Friday as part of a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, after negotiators reached a deal to release hostages.

In Gaza itself, heavy attacks by Israeli warplanes continued, with the Palestinian Authority saying late Thursday that at least 86 people had been killed, a day after the truce was announced. Earlier on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had struck about 50 terrorist targets across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.

Israel postponed a meeting of the cabinet scheduled for Thursday to vote on the deal amid long-running glaring differences among ministers. Netanyahu said his cabinet would not meet until "Hamas accepts all elements of the deal," a move that could undermine months of work to end a brutal 15-month conflict.

The unexpected delay raised concerns that last-minute disagreements between Israel and Hamas or a hard-line opposition could still derail the deal. But early Friday morning, Netanyahu's office suggested approval was imminent. "The negotiating team informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that an agreement has been reached on the release of the hostages," his office said in a statement.

The security cabinet is said to be meeting on Friday, followed by a government meeting to approve the deal.

It was unclear whether a later meeting would take place on Friday or Saturday, or if the start of Sunday's ceasefire would be delayed.

Israel will not formally accept the deal until the security cabinet and government approve it. The Prime Minister's Office has not yet commented on the timing. Some political analysts have speculated that the ceasefire, originally scheduled to begin on Sunday, could be delayed if Israel does not finally ratify it until Saturday.

White House spokesman John Kirby said Washington believed the deal was on track and expected a ceasefire in the 15-month-old conflict "as early as late this weekend." "We don't see any indication that things are going to go off the rails right now," he told CNN on Thursday.

Friday's statement added that the families of the Israeli hostages have been informed and orders have been given to prepare to receive the hostages upon their return to Israel.

A group representing the families of Israeli hostages in Gaza, 33 of whom will be released in the first six weeks of the deal, earlier urged Netanyahu to act quickly. "For the 98 hostages, every night is a night of horrific nightmares. Do not delay their return, even for one night," the group said in a statement published by Israeli media late Thursday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that "outstanding" issues in the negotiations needed to be resolved. A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity said it was a dispute over the identities of some prisoners Hamas wanted to release. The official said envoys from President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump are in Doha, and mediators from Egypt and Qatar are working to resolve the issue.

Senior Hamas official Izzat Reshik said the group remained committed to the ceasefire.

Netanyahu's hard-line national security minister Itamar Bengvir announced late Thursday that he would resign if the government approved a ceasefire in Gaza. Ben-Gweil called the hostage-based ceasefire "irresponsible" and "reckless" and said accepting it would "erase the achievements of the war" by freeing Palestinian militants and ceding Gaza territory. .

While the threat is a blow to Netanyahu, Bengvir's departure will not bring down the prime minister's government.

In Jerusalem, some Israelis carried fake coffins through the streets, blocked roads and scuffled with police to protest the ceasefire. Other protesters blocked traffic until security forces dispersed them.

The deal hammered out by U.S., Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari negotiators in Doha after weeks of talks largely follows the outlines of a truce first proposed last May. President Joe Biden viewed the agreement as a cornerstone achievement of his administration and said it was the result of "tenacious and hard-working U.S. diplomacy."

In the first phase of the 42-day period, Hamas agreed to release 33 hostages, including children, women (including female soldiers) and those over 50 years old. In exchange, Israel will release 50 Palestinian prisoners for every female Israeli soldier released. Hamas and 30 hostages.

Displaced Palestinians will be allowed to move freely in the Gaza Strip, which Israel divides in half with a military corridor. The injured should be evacuated for treatment abroad, and aid to the area should be increased to 600 trucks a day - higher than the minimum 500 trucks aid agencies say is needed to contain Gaza's devastating humanitarian crisis.

The second phase will repatriate the remaining living hostages and release a corresponding proportion of Palestinian prisoners, and Israel will completely withdraw from the Palestinian territories. Specific details are subject to further negotiations, with the first phase set to begin in 16 days.

The third phase will address the exchange of bodies of deceased hostages and Hamas members and will launch a Gaza reconstruction plan. Future governance arrangements for the zone remain unclear. Many in the Biden administration and the international community have advocated the return of the semi-autonomous Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, which lost control of Gaza to Hamas in a brief civil war in 2007. But Israel has repeatedly rejected this proposal.

More than 15 months of war has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians and destroyed much of Gaza's infrastructure. The International Court of Justice is examining allegations that Israel committed genocide.

with Reuters