Israel’s longest war has so far failed to destroy its main enemy, Hamas, which, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself – and a failure for Israel.

The Israeli government on Friday approved a cease-fire deal with Hamas that will see the release of all hostages held by the Palestinian group after more than seven hours of debate, local media reported.

In a major breakthrough, the first set of three Israeli hostages have been handed over to Israel on Sunday, in accordance with the hostage release framework for the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.