The United Nations has confirmed it is waiting for the green light from Israel to deliver aid to Gaza.

The Israeli government announced early Friday that it approved an agreement aimed at releasing all hostages held in Gaza, both alive and deceased.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, “The government has just approved a framework for the release of all hostages – whether alive or dead.”

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that with the government’s approval of the first phase of the Gaza agreement, a ceasefire comes into effect.

In a related context, the United Nations said on Thursday that 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine, and other humanitarian aid are ready to enter Gaza, and it is seeking Israel’s approval to significantly increase assistance to more than two million Palestinians following a ceasefire agreement.

Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, stated that the UN and its humanitarian partners have only been able to deliver 20 percent of the needed aid to address the deteriorating situation in Gaza over the past several months.