The Israeli government approved the hostage deal at 1 a.m. on Saturday after over seven hours of debate, Walla reported.
Twenty-four ministers voted in favor, and eight ministers voted against.
The meeting was supposed to start at 3:30 p.m., but it did not begin until around 6:30 p.m. due to an ongoing discussion in Israel's security cabinet.
Thesecurity cabinet voted in favor of the hostage deal, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich voting against the deal. Boththreatened to leave the government if a ceasefire deal was approved.
Because the general cabinet meeting continued into the start of Shabbat, haredi ministers left notes outlining their position in favor of a deal.
With the Haredi votes in favor, the deal has a majority, despite opposition fromOtzma Yehudit and theReligious Zionist Party ministers.
Who's in favor? Who's against it?
The ministers who voted against the deal were from the Religious Zionists Party (RZP) and Otzma Yehudit, as well as Likud Ministers David Amsalem and Amichai Chikli,Israel Hayom reported.
Both Amsalem and Chikli had expressed opposition to the deal before the vote, while RZP and Otzma Yehudit said they were against the deal.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi was absent, according to Walla.
Many of the Haredi ministers directly cited biblical principles in their decision to support a hostage deal.
Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli (Shas) wrote on his ballot: "Whoever saves one soul in Israel is as if he saved an entire world."
UTJ head and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf wrote, "And you have no greater commandment than the redemption of captives."
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel (Shas) added the verse "And may your brother live with you" on his ballot supporting the deal.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar (New Hope-United Right), Minister Ze'ev Elkin (New Hope-United Right), Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar (Likud), and Education Minister Yoav Kisch (Likud) also announced that they would vote in favor.
Trump will fully back Israel
Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu told the cabinet that President-electDonald Trump had given his full backing for Israel to restart the war should Hamas violate the agreement before phase two of the deal, Israeli media reported on Friday.
Netanyahu also told the cabinet that Trump would unfreeze weapons shipments, which he has claimed President Biden froze.
Netanyahu once again blamed Hamas for the delay in reaching a deal, saying, "There was no deal on the table because Hamas opposed any deal. However, the situation changed because of the heroism of our fighters and because of our actions in the region, including our severe blow to the Iranian axis. Hamas remained isolated in this theatre, and as a result, it folded and agreed to this deal."
This is in direct contradiction tostatements made earlier in the week by Ben-Gvir, who claimed that a hostage deal had not been achieved due to his influence.