WASHINGTON—Israel and terrorist group Hamas have reached a deal for the release of hostages, marking a breakthrough toward ending the two-year war in Gaza.
After announcing that both sides had agreed to the deal, President Donald Trump said that hostages still being held by Hamas are likely to be released in the coming days.
In exchange, Israel will withdraw its troops to an “agreed upon line.”
“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan. This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace,” Trump wrote on Truth Social when he announced the development.
“All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
Netanyahu said the Israeli government will meet on Thursday evening to approve the agreement.
Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday that the Israeli Security Cabinet will meet at 5 p.m. local time, followed by a government meeting at 6 p.m.
In a press briefing on Thursday, a spokeswoman for Netanyahu’s office, Shosh Bedrosian, said that a cease-fire will begin in Gaza, within 24 hours after the Cabinet meeting.
“After this 24-hour period, the 72-hour time window will then begin, where all of our hostages will be released back into Israel,” she added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump and his team for their commitment to freeing the hostages.
“With the approval of the first phase of the plan, all our hostages will be brought home. This is a diplomatic success and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said on X.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he will “wholeheartedly” back the framework for the release of hostages at the government meeting on Thursday. Defense Minister Israel Katz, Energy Minister Eli Cohen, and Transport Minister Miri Regev have all publicly backed the agreement.
Following the announcement of the deal, people in both Israel and Gaza responded with public celebrations.
In Israel, families of hostages held by Hamas were with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick when they spoke to Trump on the phone and thanked him for his efforts.
World leaders, including heads of European and Arab nations, have welcomed news of the deal’s agreed first phase, extending their gratitude to Trump for his role in facilitating it.
Statements of appreciation from leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, among others, came as senior diplomats from Europe, Arab countries, and other international partners convened in Paris on Thursday to discuss Gaza’s post-war transition.
Transition and Hostages
The deal signals progress as the first step in Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan.
Negotiations on the other parts of the peace deal are ongoing.
During a Wednesday evening interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Trump said that a “Council of Peace” would be formed to oversee the postwar transition and reconstruction.
“People are going to be taken care of. It’s going to be a different world,” Trump said.
“I think, really, the Middle East came together.”
Speaking about the hostages, Trump said he expects them to be released sometime on Oct. 13, U.S. time.
“It’s a terrible situation there. [The hostages] are deep in the earth, and they’re being gotten and a lot of things are happening right now as we speak, so much is happening to get the hostages freed,” Trump said.
“We think they‘ll all be coming back on Monday … and that’ll include the bodies of the dead.”
Hamas’s Response
Hamas, which on Oct. 3 agreed to release all hostages in accordance with Trump’s plan, also released a statement after Trump’s announcement.
“We highly appreciate the efforts of our brothers and mediators in Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, and we also value the efforts of U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war completely and achieving a full withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip,” the terrorist group wrote.
“We call on President Trump, the guarantor states of the agreement, and all Arab, Islamic, and international parties to compel the occupation government to fully implement its obligations under the agreement and to prevent it from evading or delaying the implementation of what has been agreed upon.”
The group also stated that it has accepted parts of the peace proposal to end its war with Israel, including giving up power over Gaza, but noted that other provisions would require further consultations among Palestinians.
Breakthrough
The news first came as Trump was hosting a White House roundtable with several Cabinet members and independent journalists on Antifa.
During the meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio came into the room, whispered in Trump’s ear, and handed the president a note.
“We’re very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they’re going to need me pretty quickly,” Trump told reporters after reading the note.
The president ended the news conference shortly after that.
During the roundtable, Trump also said he may travel to the Middle East over the weekend.
“I’ll be going to Egypt, most likely. That’s where everybody is gathered right now, and we appreciate that very much. But I’ll be making the rounds as the expression goes,” he said.
The Trump administration introduced a 20-point Middle East peace plan to end the war in Gaza. Washington’s plan includes the return of all hostages—both living and dead—an immediate cease-fire, a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, large-scale reconstruction, and a new dialogue between Palestinians and Israel for “peaceful coexistence.”
Peace Deal
The war in Gaza has raged since Oct. 7, 2023, when a number of terrorist groups led by Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing more than 250 hostages. Today, an estimated 20 hostages are still believed to be alive in captivity.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, more than 67,000 people have been killed since the start of the conflict. The figure does not distinguish between fighters and civilians and includes some deaths from natural causes. The Epoch Times cannot verify these figures.
Trump’s Gaza peace deal included Israel’s withdrawal to an agreed line, a suspension of all military operations in Gaza, and the release of 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences, along with 1,700 Gazans detained after Hamas’s October 2023 terrorist attack on Israel.
“Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza,” the agreement reads.
According to Trump’s peace plan, Gaza will be governed by a temporary, apolitical Palestinian technocratic committee tasked with managing daily public services and municipalities in Gaza.
The committee will be composed of qualified Palestinians and international experts. It will operate under the oversight of a new international body, the “Board of Peace,” headed and chaired by Trump. The board will include prominent names such as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, with additional members to be announced.
The peace plan also states that when the Palestinian Authority completes its reform program, it could prepare the conditions for “a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.”
The plan includes deradicalizing Gaza and making it a terror-free zone so that it does not pose a threat in the future. The Gaza Strip will receive full aid when hostilities end.
Both Trump and Netanyahu have made it clear that Hamas will play no role in the governance of Gaza.
“All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt,” the plan reads.
“No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return.”
Trump highlighted the plan during a joint news conference with Netanyahu at the White House on Sept. 29.
“Working with the new transitional authority in Gaza, all parties will agree on a timeline for Israeli forces to withdraw in phases. They’ll be withdrawing in phases,” the president said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will visit Walter Reed Medical Center on the morning of Oct. 10 for a planned meeting and remarks with the troops.
“While there, President Trump will stop by for his routine yearly check-up. He will then return to the White House. President Trump is considering going to the Middle East shortly thereafter,” Leavitt said.
By Emel Akan, Jacob Burg, Joseph Lord and Evgenia Filimianova
