Middle East latest: Netanyahu says deal to return hostages from Gaza reached after last snags

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached. The announcement early came a day after Netanyahu’s office said there were last minute snags in talks to free hostages in return for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Netanyahu said he will convene his security Cabinet on Friday and then the government to approve the ceasefire agreement.

On Thursday, Netanyahu's office said the Cabinet won’t meet to approve the agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of dozens of hostages until Hamas backs down, accusing the group of reneging on parts of the agreement in an attempt to gain further concessions.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 72 people since the ceasefire deal was announced, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Palestinians in Gaza reported heavy Israeli bombardment overnight as people were celebrating the ceasefire deal. In previous conflicts, both sides have stepped up military operations in the final hours before ceasefires go into effect as a way to project strength.

Under the deal expected to begin Sunday, 33 hostages are set to be released over the next six weeks, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The remainder, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining captives without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 46,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry. It does not say how many of the dead were militants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

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Here's the latest:

Netanyahu says Israeli officials have reached a deal to return hostages after last minute snags

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip has been reached.

The announcement came a day after Netanyahu’s office said there were last minute snags in talks to free hostages in return for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Netanyahu said he will convene his security Cabinet on Friday and then the government to approve the ceasefire agreement.

Trump says ceasefire better be finalized before his inauguration

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas better be finalized before his inauguration on Monday and said his involvement was crucial for the negotiation.

“We changed the course of it, and we changed it fast, and frankly, it better be done before I take the oath of office,” he said in a podcast interview with Dan Bongino.

Trump also said “we shook hands, and we signed certain documents, but it better be done.”

He claimed Biden hadn’t done anything.

“I’m not looking for credit. I want to get these people out,” he said. “We’ve got to get them out.”

The truce is expected to begin Sunday, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a “last-minute crisis” with Hamas is holding up his government’s approval.

What awaits Palestinians on the other side of a ceasefire?

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are eager to leave miserable tent camps and return to their homes if a long-awaited ceasefire agreement halts the war, but many will find there's nothing left.

And it’s unclear when — or even if — much will be rebuilt.

Two-thirds of structures in Gaza have been destroyed

The full extent of the damage will only be known when the fighting ends and inspectors have full access to the territory.

Using satellite data, the United Nations estimated last month that 69% of the structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, including over 245,000 homes.

Mountains of rubble will need to be moved

Before anything can be rebuilt, the rubble must be removed — a staggering task in itself.

The U.N. estimates that the war has littered Gaza with over 50 million tons of rubble. That's roughly 12 times the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza. With over 100 trucks working full time, it would take over 15 years to clear the rubble away.

The debris also contains huge amounts of unexploded ordnance as well as human remains. Gaza’s Health Ministry says thousands of people killed in Israeli airstrikes are still buried under the rubble.

No plan for the day after

All this will require billions of dollars and the ability to bring construction materials and heavy equipment into the territory — neither of which are assured.

The ceasefire and hostage deal doesn’t say whether Israel and Egypt will lift a blockade on Gaza they imposed when Hamas seized power in 2007.

International donors are unlikely to invest in an ungoverned territory that has seen five wars in less than two decades, which means the sprawling tent camps along the coast could become a permanent feature of life in Gaza.