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Israel has approved the agreement on the first phase of the US plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip and release all hostages. Hamas had previously declared the war over.

Israel has approved the agreement on the first phase of the US plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip and release all hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced overnight.

"The government has just approved the framework for the release of all hostages - both living and deceased," the statement said.

Hamas declares Gaza war over

Previously, the radical Islamist Hamas had declared the war in the Gaza Strip over. The group cited assurances from the United States, Arab mediators, and Turkey that the fighting would end permanently.

"We have received guarantees from the mediators and the US government, and everyone has confirmed that the war is completely over," said Khalil al-Haya, Hamas's top foreign leader, in a televised address that evening. The agreement includes the opening of the Rafah border crossing in both directions. It also provides for the release of all Palestinian women and children imprisoned in Israel, al-Haya said.

Israel and the Islamist Hamas had previously agreed, after days of indirect talks in Egypt, to implement the first phase of a peace plan for the Gaza Strip presented by US President Donald Trump, which includes the release of Israeli hostages.