Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to a ceasefire in Gaza for at least four days, to let in aid, and to release at least 50 hostages captured by militants in exchange for at least 150 Palestinians jailed in Israel. The agreement, reached after mediation by Qatar, was hailed around the world as a sign of progress that could ease the suffering of Gaza’s civilians and bring more Israeli hostages home.

The plan would allow for expanded humanitarian deliveries and a limited number of Gazans to cross into Israel to work. Israeli military sources said it also calls for a multiday pause in fighting in southern Israel and a reduction of air sorties over the besieged Palestinian enclave.

But the plan would also release the first wave of about 50 women and children held hostage since Hamas stormed into southern Israel on October 7. That could fuel domestic tensions in a country where hundreds of families still await the return of their loved ones.

Israel’s Cabinet backed the deal after hours of deliberation that stretched into the early hours. Only three of the 38 ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition — National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and two of his far-right party- voted against it.

In a statement, the Cabinet said it had “approved the outline for the first stage of achieving the goal of returning all the kidnapped Israelis home.” The cabinet statement added that Israel would extend the four-day lull in bombing by one day for every ten hostages released.

The announcement came as Israel’s top military and intelligence officials gathered to discuss the progress of negotiations with Hamas. The talks had a positive tone, the officials said.

But it remains to be seen whether the truce will hold. Gaza’s militants have launched more than 1,400 rockets and mortar shells into Israel in the past two weeks. Some of them have struck densely populated areas, and several hundred people have been killed and wounded.

If the truce holds, it will be crucial for the future of a two-state solution to the conflict. But it will not be enough to heal wounds that run deep across the world from the violence and the loss of so many lives in a war that has flattened large swathes of Gaza’s tiny, densely populated enclave.

The deal also raises questions about how to address the threat of a long-term, permanent Hamas presence in Gaza. Israel has warned that if it resumes its offensive, it will seek to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and deprive the group of its weapons. If that happens, Hamas will probably use the opportunity to step up its attacks on Israel and to reopen its tunnels under the border. That could spawn more casualties on both sides and create new outrage in the Muslim world. And it could provoke a more severe response from the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, which has made clear it wants to remove the terrorist organization.