What Did Israel’s Cabinet Decide About the Gaza Ceasefire?
Decision 3396, adopted 9 October 2025: a ceasefire on adoption, 48 hostages in 72 hours, 250 prisoners and 1,722 Gaza detainees.
48 hostages were to be returned within 72 hours under Decision 3396, which the Government of Israel adopted on 9 October 2025 under section 8b(a) of the Government Law. The Government of Israel approved a ceasefire commencing at the time of the decision’s adoption, an IDF deployment within 24 hours to lines drawn on maps at Annex D, the release of 250 prisoners and detainees held by the Israel Prison Service, and separately the release of 1,722 detainees from Gaza. The Government Secretariat published the decision on 9 October 2025 and updated it on 10 October 2025, with Annex B classified and Annexes C to F held in the Secretariat’s files.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 48 | Hostages to be returned under paragraph 2.2: 20 living, 2 whose deaths had not been determined, 26 deceased | Within 72 hours of the Annex D deployment |
| 24 hours | Deadline for the IDF to deploy per the maps at Annex D, with the ceasefire commencing on adoption | From adoption, 9 October 2025 |
| 250 | Prisoners and detainees held by the Prison Service approved for release under paragraph 2.3.1, plus some of a further list of 20 | On adoption, 9 October 2025 |
| 1,722 | Detainees from Gaza the decision states were not involved in the events of 7 October 2023 and were arrested after that date, including 22 minors under 18 | On adoption, 9 October 2025 |
| 1,411 and 311 | Split of the 1,722 between Prison Service custody and IDF custody, as the decision states it | On adoption, 9 October 2025 |
| 360 | Bodies approved for transfer to Gaza under paragraph 2.3.2 | On adoption, 9 October 2025 |
Source: Government of Israel, Decision 3396, adopted and published 9 October 2025, the Government’s own decision text.
Decision 3396 approved a ceasefire and the return of 48 hostages
The Government of Israel approved the framework on the basis of a security-political opinion of the National Security Council, formed after the positions of the security and political bodies were received. Paragraph 2.1 provides that within 24 hours the IDF deploy per the maps at Annex D, and that there be a ceasefire commencing at the time of the decision’s adoption; after the hostage release the IDF was to deploy per Annex E, stated in the decision to be in order to prevent friction with the population in the Gaza Strip. Paragraph 2.2 sets the 72-hour window and the composition of the 48, which on the Government’s own count includes one non-Israeli among those feared for and 3 non-Israelis among the deceased.
250 prisoners and 1,722 Gaza detainees are two separate lists
Paragraph 2.3.1 approves two categories with different bases, and the Government of Israel’s own decision text keeps them apart. The first is 250 prisoners and detainees held by the Israel Prison Service, plus some of a further list of 20. The second is 1,700 detainees from Gaza whom the decision itself describes as not involved in the events of 7 October 2023 and as arrested after that date, together with 22 minors under 18 in the same category, 1,722 in all, of whom the decision states 1,411 were held by the Prison Service and 311 by the IDF. Paragraph 2.3.2 approves, separately again, the transfer to Gaza of 360 bodies.
| List | Count | Basis stated in the decision | Custody |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prisoners and detainees, paragraph 2.3.1 | 250, plus some of a further list of 20 | Held by the Israel Prison Service | Prison Service |
| Gaza detainees, paragraph 2.3.1 | 1,722, including 22 minors under 18 | Not involved in the events of 7 October 2023, arrested after that date | 1,411 Prison Service, 311 IDF |
| Bodies, paragraph 2.3.2 | 360 | Approved for transfer to Gaza | Not stated |
Source: Government of Israel, Decision 3396, adopted 9 October 2025, the Government’s own decision text.
Paragraph 3.1 conditions a murderer’s release on permanent removal
The Government of Israel set a condition on part of the release. Paragraph 3.1 provides that a security prisoner convicted of murder, of producing weapons used for murder, or of dispatching an attacker to an attack with fatalities was to be released only on condition of transfer to Gaza or abroad, and of never returning to Israel or to Judea and Samaria, permanently. The condition attaches to the offence of conviction rather than to a list of names, and the decision, which is the Government’s own instrument, publishes no count of how many of the 250 fall inside it.
Paragraph 6 cancels the ceasefire if the 48 are not returned
The ceasefire the Government of Israel approved is conditional on the face of its own decision. Paragraph 6 provides that in the event that paragraph 2.2 is not fulfilled, the ceasefire shall be cancelled and the IDF shall no longer be bound by the deployment at Annex D. Paragraph 4.3 authorises the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence, jointly, to decide to terminate execution of the framework, including where paragraph 2.2 is not fulfilled.
- The trigger named in paragraph 6 is non-fulfilment of the 72-hour return of the 48.
- The consequence named is cancellation of the ceasefire and release from the Annex D deployment.
- The power to terminate execution sits with two ministers acting jointly, under paragraph 4.3.
The decision publishes no map of the Annex D deployment line
Paragraph 8.1 requires publication of the decision and Annex C on the Ministry of Justice website, withholding the names of the Gaza detainees not involved in 7 October, of the further list of 20, and of the minors among the 250, for whom the police file and criminal proceeding numbers were to be given so far as possible. The deployment maps at Annexes D and E are not among the published material, so no line appears in the published record of the Government of Israel’s own decision. The IDF Spokesperson published on 4 November 2025, in the army’s own war diary, that the ceasefire took effect on 10 October 2025 at 12:00, that the yellow line is a forward line inside the Gaza Strip, and that Division 252 forces were operating east of it, which the IDF states was in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and the directives of the political echelon. That is the army’s own account of its own operations inside the Strip.
Which figures in Decision 3396 may not be added together?
The Government of Israel published every figure above in its own decision text, and each belongs to the paragraph that carries it. The 250 and the 1,722 are separate categories on separate bases and do not form one release total; the 360 bodies are a third approval again. The 1,411 and the 311 are the two custody components of the 1,722 and are not additional people. Annex B is classified and Annexes C to F are held in the Government Secretariat files, so conditions material to the framework, including the humanitarian-aid arrangements at paragraph 7, are not in the published text.
Questions readers ask
When did the Government of Israel adopt Decision 3396?
The Government of Israel adopted the decision on 9 October 2025 and the Government Secretariat published it that day, with an update on 10 October 2025.
When did the ceasefire begin?
Paragraph 2.1 states that the ceasefire commences at the time of the decision’s adoption. The IDF Spokesperson published that the ceasefire took effect on 10 October 2025 at 12:00.
How many hostages were to be returned, and in what condition?
The Government of Israel approved the return of 48: 20 living Israeli hostages, 2 whose lives were gravely feared for but whose deaths had not been determined, and 26 deceased hostages.
How long did the framework allow for the return?
Paragraph 2.2 gives 72 hours from the deployment set out in paragraph 2.1, which itself falls within 24 hours of adoption.
How many Palestinian prisoners did the cabinet approve for release?
The Government of Israel approved 250 prisoners and detainees held by the Israel Prison Service, plus some of a further list of 20, and separately 1,722 detainees from Gaza, including 22 minors.
Who was holding the 1,722?
The Government of Israel states in its own decision that 1,411 were held by the Israel Prison Service and 311 by the IDF.
Did the decision approve a withdrawal from Gaza?
The Government of Israel approved deployment to the lines at Annex D and then at Annex E, described in the decision as preventing friction with the population in the Gaza Strip. No withdrawal from the Strip appears in the text.
Who can end the ceasefire under the decision?
Paragraph 4.3 authorises the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence, jointly, to decide to terminate execution of the framework, and paragraph 6 cancels the ceasefire if the 72-hour return is not fulfilled.
Were the names of those released published?
Paragraph 8.1 required publication of the decision and Annex C while withholding the names of the Gaza detainees, of the further list of 20, and of the minors among the 250.
Has the IDF published operations inside Gaza since the ceasefire began?
Yes. The IDF Spokesperson published on 13 April 2026, in the army’s own war diary, that forces directed by Southern Command and the Israel Security Agency had struck armed operatives who approached the yellow line in the centre of the Gaza Strip during that week, and stated that its forces are deployed in accordance with the agreement. Those are the army’s own dated dispatches about its use of fire during the ceasefire, and no cumulative total appears in them.
Has anyone been prosecuted over the 7 October attack?
The State Comptroller of Israel reported that as at February 2026 no indictments had been filed against those suspected of grave crimes in the 7 October attack, on a joint decision of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice not to advance prosecutions while hostages were held, with several hundred expected.
How many security prisoners was Israel holding before the framework?
The State Comptroller of Israel reported 10,147 security prisoners held in Israel Prison Service facilities as at February 2025, with a further 2,366 held in IDF facilities, on the Prison Service’s own figures relayed in the audit.
Sources
- Government of Israel, 2025. Decision 3396, Framework for the Release of All Israeli Hostages. Government Secretariat, Prime Minister’s Office. gov.il/he/pages/dec3396-2025. Official or primary record.
- Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson, 2025. Documentation of Division 252 Activity in the Yellow Line Area. War diary. idf.il/315132. Official or primary record.
- Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson, 2026. War Diary, 13 April 2026. idf.il/337391. Official or primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2026. Incarceration, Release and Prosecution of Security Prisoners Following the Iron Swords War. Report 10565. mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
