After more than two years of war, Israel and Hamas announced in the early hours of today that they have closed a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, as part of a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump and aims to bring “lasting” peace to the region.

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,…

— Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) October 8, 2025

As the Republican “proudly” announced via Truth Social, the parties “accepted the first phase” of his plan for Gaza at indirect negotiations in Egypt. “This means ALL hostages will be released very soon,” he continued. Israel “will withdraw its troops on a line provided for in the agreement” as part of the “first steps toward a Strong, Lasting and Eternal Peace,” the US president added.

A French News Agency source in Hamas said today that the first phase of the deal calls for the release of 20 living hostages remaining monetary in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The exchange will take place within 72 hours of the implementation of the agreement, which is expected to be formally signed later today, this source, who is aware of the content of the indirect negotiations, added. The hostages will be released in exchange for the release of 250 Palestinians who were sentenced to life sentences and another 1,700 people who were arrested by Israeli forces after the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023, always according to this source.

Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “great day for Israel”, “thanking” US President Trump and announcing that he was calling a cabinet meeting within the day to ratify the deal. “With God’s help, we will bring everyone back home,” he noted a short time earlier via X, referring to the hostages.

Trump, who is eager to receive the Nobel Peace Prize – which is awarded tomorrow, Friday – announced earlier yesterday a possible visit to the Middle East later this week, asserting that a deal was “very close” on the fourth day of negotiations in the Egyptian spa town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Sources familiar with the matter told Agence France-Presse that the agreement for the first phase was expected to be formally signed, probably today in Egypt. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had said he had invited his US counterpart to go there to “attend the signing” if a deal was struck.

The hostages “will have returned on Monday”

Trump said yesterday (Wednesday) that he believes the remaining Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip will “have returned by Monday” during a telephone interview with Fox News hours after he announced the deal. “I think the hostages will have returned on Monday (…) that will include the bodies of the dead,” the U.S. president told the network.

Of the 251 people kidnapped in the Hamas assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, the trigger for the war, 47 remain who are still being held hostage in the Gaza Strip, but 25 of them have been declared dead by the Israeli army. The enclave also contains the body of an Israeli soldier who had died in a previous war between Israel and Hamas.

“We think Gaza will become a much safer place, it will be rebuilt, and other countries in the region will help rebuild it, as they have huge wealth and want it to be. And we (the US) will be involved, to help and guarantee success and to maintain peace,” the tycoon also said. He also said he believes Iran should also be “part” of the peace process, without being more specific.

“The whole world was involved in closing this deal (…) So many countries you can’t imagine did what was needed,” the Republican said. “It’s very good for Israel, for the Muslims, for the Arab countries (…), for the United States,” he continued, stressing that this is “more than (peace in) Gaza. It is about peace in the Middle East.”

“Once and for all”

“All hostages must be released in a dignified manner. A permanent ceasefire must be guaranteed. The fighting must stop once and for all (…) The suffering must end,” UN Secretary General Anthony Guterres said in a statement released by his office, calling on the parties to “fully respect” the terms of the agreement and assuring that the organization stands ready to “increase aid deliveries in a sustained and principled manner” and to engage in the reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave.

As an indication of the pressure to close the deal, envoys from Mr Trump, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdelrahman al-Thani and the head of Turkish intelligence Ibraim Kalin went to Sharm el-Sheikh.

The talks under the Trump plan began on Monday, on the eve of the two-year anniversary of the outbreak of war. During the negotiations, the Israeli armed forces continued their deadly bombardment across the besieged Palestinian enclave, which has suffered immense destruction and where the population is starving, according to the civil defense.

Guarantees

Trump’s plan, as announced on September 29, called for a ceasefire, the release within 72 hours of hostages, the phased withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip and the disarmament of the Palestinian Islamist movement.

According to a source close to Hamas, “maps for the withdrawal” of Israeli troops from the enclave were presented.

The day before, Hamas’ chief negotiator, Khalil al-Haya, stressed that the movement wants “guarantees” from Mr Trump and mediators that the war “will end once and for all”. “We don’t trust” Israel, he explained.

Hamas said it was ready to release all hostages to ensure “the end of the war” and a “complete Israeli withdrawal” from the small coastal enclave. But it made no mention of disarmament, a key element of the US proposal.

Netanyahu, on the other hand, has reiterated in recent days that his army will remain in most of the Gaza Strip, which Israeli sources say he currently controls about 75 percent, and that he considers disarming Hamas a prerequisite.

“Destroy Hamas”

The far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gweir went before the announcement was made by the White House to Mosque Square in Jerusalem, sparking the anger of Hamas and Arab countries.

“I only pray that our prime minister will allow an absolute victory in Gaza in order to destroy Hamas, God willing, and bring back the hostages,” said Mr. Ben Gweir, who is hostile to any deal.

Two previous ceasefires, in November 2023 and early 2025, allowed Israeli hostages, alive and dead, to be repatriated in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails – before they collapsed.

The Hamas assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, resulted in 1,219 people on the Israeli side, the majority of them civilians, according to a French News Agency account based on official data. Of the 251 people kidnapped that day, 47 remain who are still being held hostage in the Gaza Strip, but 25 of them have been declared dead by the Israeli army. Also in the enclave is the body of an Israeli soldier who had died in an earlier war between Israel and Hamas.

Large-scale Israeli military retaliatory operations have since killed at least 67,183 people in the Gaza Strip, the majority of them civilians, according to the most recent figures from the Hamas government’s health ministry, which the UN considers reliable.

The United Nations has declared a starvation in sectors of the Gaza Strip, and its independent investigators say Israel is committing genocide in the tiny Palestinian enclave. The Israeli government rejects both accusations.