IRIA News

8 minute read – Published on October 9, 2025

Israel and Hamas have reached a long-awaited agreement on the first phase of Gaza peace deal for the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, that is aimed at ending the two-year war in Gaza and Israel’s withdrawal from the territory.

The breakthrough was reached on October 8, 2025, during negotiations in Egypt, where Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior adviser Jared Kushner have been holding talks with Israeli, Hamas, and Arab Muslim representatives. Israel’s chief negotiator, Ron Dermer, joined the discussions on Wednesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that both sides “have 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. “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!”

Earlier, Trump suggested that he might travel to the Middle East this weekend. According to sources, only procedural details remain. Once approved by Israel’s government, hostages are expected to be released within 48 hours.

Israeli Cabinet Approves Ceasefire

A vote by ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on October 9 approved the Gaza ceasefire deal, which starts the countdown to the implementation of the first phase of the agreement, with a ceasefire expected to take effect within 24 hours of the decision.

“The government has now approved the outline for the release of all abductees, living and dead,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. Under the plan, Hamas will have three days to release all remaining hostages held in Gaza, while Israel will free several Palestinian prisoners. Details of the deal, the first phase of which was signed earlier Thursday, remain unclear, and Israeli airstrikes reportedly continued throughout the day.

President Donald Trump said the hostages could be released by Monday or Tuesday and confirmed that he would travel to Egypt for the formal signing of the agreement. Earlier Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Jerusalem with U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and former presidential advisor Jared Kushner, who had participated in indirect negotiations with Hamas in Egypt.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer also joined the talks. President Isaac Herzog later met with the American envoys, thanking them and Trump for their “historic role” in helping bring about the deal and advance regional peace efforts.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the government meeting together with President Trump's Special Envoy to the Middle East, @SteveWitkoff, and with the President's son-in-law, @JaredKushner. pic.twitter.com/3ihj3zs3cL

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 9, 2025

Netanyahu Hails the Agreement as ‘Moral Victory for Israel’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the agreement, calling it “a great day for Israel,” and announced plans to convene his government on Thursday to ratify the deal.

“With God’s help we will bring them all home,” Netanyahu said. His office described a “very warm and emotional” conversation with Trump, praising his leadership and calling the deal “a diplomatic success, and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel.”

“Through steadfast resolve, powerful military action, and the great efforts of our great friend and ally President Trump, we have reached this critical turning point,” Netanyahu posted on X. “I thank President Trump for his leadership, his partnership, and his unwavering commitment to the safety of Israel and the freedom of our hostages.”

Hamas Thanks Mediators, Calls for Full Implementation

Hamas confirmed the agreement in a statement thanking mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey. “We also value the efforts of U.S. President Donald Trump, who seeks to bring about a definitive end to the war and a complete withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip,” the statement said.

Hamas urged mediators to ensure Israel “fully implements the agreement’s requirements and not allow it to evade or delay the implementation of what has been agreed upon.”

During a White House roundtable on Antifa earlier in the day, Trump received a note from Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio with the latest update.

“Our final negotiation, as you know, is with Hamas. And it seems to be going well,” Trump said. “I may go there sometime toward the end of the week. We’ll see, but there’s a very good chance that negotiations are going along very well.”

Rubio, who has been coordinating with the negotiators, canceled a planned trip to France to focus on the peace process.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi invited Trump to attend the official signing ceremony, while Netanyahu invited the U.S. president to address the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.

Details of Gaza Peace Plan

The peace agreement builds on a 20-point peace plan discussed between Trump and Netanyahu on September 29. The plan calls for Hamas to disarm and relinquish control of Gaza, which would be temporarily governed by an international trusteeship led by the U.S. and Arab allies.

“Other countries in the area will help it reconstruct because they have tremendous amounts of wealth, and they want to see that happen,” Trump told media reporters. “We’ll be involved in helping them make it successful and helping it stay peaceful.”

Trump also suggested that Iran could play a role in the broader regional settlement. “Iran will be part of the whole peace situation,” he said, referring to the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel in July that the U.S. helped broker.

The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led an attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. The Israeli military has since killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children.

Hostage Exchange and Humanitarian Situation

Under the first phase of the deal, Hamas will release Israeli hostages while Israel frees Palestinian prisoners within 72 hours of the agreement’s approval. Israel believes that 20 live hostages and 28 deceased remain in Gaza.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said, “This marks an important and meaningful step toward bringing everyone back, yet our struggle is not over and will not end until the last hostage returns home.”

“Today, President Trump has done it,” said Moshe Lavi, brother-in-law of Israeli hostage Omri Miran. “He announced just now that our loved ones, the hostages, are coming home.”

“These are the tears I prayed for,” said Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker.

In Gaza, residents reported Israeli warplanes flying low over the city on Wednesday. Israeli Defense Forces Chief Gen. Eyal Zamir instructed troops “to be ready for any scenario,” including the release of hostages.

The IDF said it “will continue to act to realize the goals of the war and to safeguard citizens of the State of Israel on all fronts.”

Ceasefire to Follow Approval

A senior Palestinian official said that a ceasefire will take effect immediately after the Israeli government approves the deal, expected around 14:00 local time on Thursday.

Despite hopes that the agreement could mark the beginning of the end of the war, officials on both sides say crucial details on implementation remain under discussion.

The breakthrough in Egypt comes two years and two days after the conflict began. While celebrations erupt all over the world following Trump’s announcement, leaders on all sides emphasized that the path to lasting peace will depend on the full execution of the agreement’s terms.