Trump to Arrive in Israel on Monday Morning, Heads Straight to Knesset
TEL AVIV, October 10, 2025 — U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to arrive in Israel at 9 a.m. on Monday, where he will be welcomed with an official ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport before heading directly to the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported.
Trump will deliver a speech to Israeli lawmakers ahead of the Simchat Torah holiday, which begins Monday evening. His visit — arranged shortly after the signing of a ceasefire and hostage-exchange deal between Israel and Hamas — is expected to be brief. Following his address, Trump will reportedly return to the airport for departure.
Meanwhile, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism, Ben Saul, warned that “many things could go wrong” with the Trump peace plan, describing it as “extremely complex” and dependent on the goodwill of both sides. Saul told the BBC that key parts of the 20-point proposal remain vague and that the UN Security Council has yet to endorse it.
The first phase of the plan, approved by Israel on Thursday, includes a Gaza ceasefire, partial Israeli troop withdrawal, the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the deployment of U.S.-led international monitors. The ceasefire is expected to take effect Saturday morning.
The Kremlin also weighed in Friday, saying it would support Trump’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, though analysts say his chances are slim. Moscow has praised Trump’s mediation efforts in both the Gaza and Ukraine conflicts.
In the early morning hours of Friday, October 10, the Israeli government approved the outline (“outline”) of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, linked to the release of all remaining hostages and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
According to the timetable, the cessation of hostilities could take effect within 24 hours and the first releases could begin up to 72 hours later. The move has been welcomed by the UN, while the US is deploying some 200 troops to support and monitor the implementation.
What the cabinet decided
In a brief statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the “framework” of the agreement regarding the release of the hostages had been approved. The wording leaves some parameters to be fleshed out in the coming hours, but it paves the way for an immediate suspension of operations in Gaza.
“The government has just approved the framework for the release of all hostages – living and deceased,” Israel’s prime minister’s office said via X. This development allows the agreement to come into effect.
The deal struck last night in Egypt was based on a 20-point plan announced by Trump on September 29, after two years of devastating war, triggered by an unprecedented Hamas assault on the southern part of Israeli territory on October 7, 2023.
Speaking at the cabinet meeting convened to ratify the hostage release agreement with Hamas, Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “is ready to achieve” the return of its hostages.
“We fought during these two years to achieve our war aims,” the Israeli prime minister said in English, along with White House envoys Steve Whitcoff and Jared Kushner. “A central one of these war aims is the return of hostages, all hostages, living and dead. And we are ready to achieve that goal.”
Of the 251 people who were abducted and taken to Gaza that day, 47 remain detained there, but at least 25 have been declared dead by the Israeli army. Large-scale Israeli military retaliatory operations have left tens of thousands dead and caused humanitarian devastation in the Gaza Strip.
The release of the hostages will “put an end to the war,” Israeli diplomatic chief Gideon Saar said, while Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Haya said he had “received assurances from the brother mediators and the US government confirming that the war is fully ended.”
What to expect in the next 72 hours
– Official announcement on the time of the ceasefire start time and rules of engagement.
– Confirmation of lists for initial exchanges (hostage-held) and secure transport routes.
– Develop/activate the surveillance and coordination centre, involving regional partners.
Timetable for ceasefire and exchanges
International media closely following the talks report that a suspension of hostilities is expected within 24 hours of approval, while the process of hostage releases and simultaneous releases of Palestinian prisoners is expected to begin within the first 72 hours. Technical details (delivery routes, lists of names, surveillance points) are still being worked out with the mediation of the US, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.
The document, titled “Implementation Steps for President Trump for a “Comprehensive End to the Gaza War” released by public broadcaster Kan, details the steps of the agreement, beginning with the US leader’s announcement of “ending the war in the Gaza Strip and that the parties have agreed to implement the steps necessary to that end.”
The second step stipulates that “the war will end immediately upon approval by the Israeli government”, which voted for the agreement, with all military operations having ceased.
The third step calls for the “immediate commencement of full entry of humanitarian aid and relief” into the Gaza Strip, while the fourth states that “the Israel Defense Forces will withdraw along the agreed lines in accordance with Map X attached hereto, and this will be completed upon President Trump’s announcement and within 24 hours of the Israeli government’s approval.”
“The Israel Defense Forces will not return to areas from which they have withdrawn if Hamas fully implements the agreement.”
In the fifth step, which will take place “within 72 hours of the withdrawal of Israeli forces, all Israeli hostages, living and dead, held in Gaza will be released.”
While it is stated that all prisoners alive and dead will be released during these 72 hours, one of the sub-paragraphs of step five calls for “the establishment of an information-sharing mechanism… on any dead hostages not recovered within the 72 hours or on the remains of Gazans held by Israel.”
“The mechanism will ensure the full and safe exhumation and release of the remains of all hostages. Hamas will make every effort to ensure that these commitments are fulfilled as soon as possible,” he added.
The next sub-clause states that “as Hamas releases all hostages, Israel will simultaneously release the corresponding number of Palestinian prisoners in accordance with the lists of attachés,” followed by another sub-clause stating that “the exchange of hostages and prisoners will take place in accordance with the mechanism agreed through the mediators and through the ICRC without public ceremonies or media coverage.”
The final step stated that “a working group of representatives from the United States, Qatar, Egypt, Egypt, and other countries will be established, agreed upon by the parties, to monitor implementation with both sides and coordinate with them.”
Who monitors implementation
The United States is deploying about 200 CENTCOM staff to Israel to establish a joint civil-military coordination center.
Its role will be to facilitate humanitarian assistance, support corridor security, and monitor the transition to civilian administration in Gaza, in cooperation with regional partners. No US forces are expected to enter Gaza.
Reaction by the UN and international mediators
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the agreement an “important step” that could pave the way for a credible political process towards a two-state solution, calling for full and unimpeded humanitarian access. Meanwhile, coordinated US-Katar-Egypt-Turkey efforts continue to finalize outstanding issues.
What remains unresolved
Despite progress, critical questions remain about Hamas disarmament, the security status and the future governance of Gaza. Final arrangements for these chapters are expected to be set in subsequent phases of the plan, with mediators pushing for gradual but binding implementation.
Implications for the field and the humanitarian crisis
The immediate priority is to stabilize the ceasefire, allow safe access for humanitarian aid hubs to all Gaza provinces and reopen key infrastructure.
The international community is preparing a rapid influx mechanism for fuel, food and medical supplies, with the United Nations saying it is ready to coordinate large-scale operations.
“Happy today”
In Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, which has suffered immense destruction and whose population is starving, jubilation erupted when news broke that an agreement had been reached, a development welcomed by several countries, including Iran, a supporter of Hamas and a sworn enemy of Israel.
“Thank God! Despite all the deaths and the loss of our loved ones, we are happy today,” said Ayman al-Nazar, who is in the city.
Hundreds of people, many with stickers saying “returning”, gathered in Tel Aviv’s “hostage square”, many of them hugging and exchanging wishes.
“We’ve been waiting for this day for 734 days,” said Lawrence Itzhak, 54.
Before the deal was approved by the Israeli government, French Agency reporters and eyewitnesses reported yesterday that explosions and artillery fire could be heard in the central and southern parts of the Palestinian enclave/
According to a Hamas official, the hostages who are alive will be released in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israel, “concurrently with specific Israeli army withdrawals” from the Gaza Strip and the “entry of (more) humanitarian aid”. There was no mention of the dead hostages.
The Israeli army confirmed that it has begun preparations to redeploy its forces in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked Mr Trump “for his efforts” and his “leadership role” that “allowed all this to be made possible”.
He also criticized, like Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, that the US president “deserves” the Nobel Peace Prize.
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.
Large-scale Israeli military retaliatory operations have since killed at least 67,194 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.
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