US President Donald Trump has announced on his social media platform Truth Social that Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have signed off on phase one of his Gaza peace plan.
Trump's announcement comes as Hamas and Israeli officials are having indirect talks in Egypt on a 20-point peace proposal unveiled by Trump to end the two-year-old war.
"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 towards a strong, durable and everlasting peace," Trump said in the announcement.
Hamas is currently believed to be holding 48 Israeli hostages it took during the October 7 terror attacks. Less than half of those hostages are presumed to be alive.
"With God's help, we will brings them all home," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after Trump's announcement, referring to the Israeli hostages.
The announcement could also mean a respite for Palestinians after more than two years of war in Gaza.
Hamas urged Trump and mediator countries to ensure that Israel implements its side of the deal. The United States, Germany and several other countries regard Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Trump likely to visit Middle East this weekend
Trump said earlier at the White House that he would go to the Middle East in case of a breakthrough regarding Gaza.
Trump that he would "go to Egypt most likely" but would also consider going to Gaza.
On Monday, the White House said Trump would be visiting the Walter Reed Medical Center for his annual routine checkup and would then possibly head to the Middle East.
"President Trump is considering going to the Middle East shortly thereafter," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
Hamas confirms deal with Israel to end Gaza war
Hamas has announced that it had reached a deal that provided for an end to the war in Gaza.
The Palestinian militant group said in a statement that "it has reached an agreement providing for an end to the war in Gaza, the withdrawal of the occupation, the entry of humanitarian aid and exchange of prisoners".
It also called on US President Donald Trump to compel Israel to fully implement the agreement and "not allow it to evade or procrastinate in implementing what has been agreed."
Reactions from Israel: Our heart beats as one with hostages
Reactions to and confirmations of this first-phase deal have started pouring in from Israel. Here are some of them.
Prime Minister Netanyanu
"A big day for Israel," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
"Tomorrow I will convene the government to approve the agreement and bring all our dear hostages home. I thank the heroic IDF soldiers and all the security forces — thanks to their courage and sacrifice, we have reached this day."
President Herzog
Israel's President Isaac Herzog said "the heart of Israel beats as one with the hostages and their families."
"As the prophet Jeremiah wrote: “They shall return from the land of the enemy… and children shall return to their borders"," he wrote on X.
Hostage families
Bring Them Home Now, the account of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, said it receive news of the agreement's signing "with a mix of excitement, anticipation, and concern."
It said the deal to return the 48 hostages (only 20 of whom are thought to be alive) held in Gaza represented "important and meaningful progress toward bringing everyone home, but our struggle is not over and will not end until the last hostage returns."
Qatar also confirms agreement on first phase of Gaza deal
Majed Al Ansari, Advisor to Qatar's Prime Minister and spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed a deal "on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement."
"This will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid" into Gaza, he wrote on X.
Qatar had been mediating the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which began in the Egyptian coastal town of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday.
Crucial details still to be negotiated
Officials stressed that the deal is only on the first phase of a ceasefire agreement.
Details such as a post-war administration for the Gaza Strip and the fate of Hamas are apparently yet to be negotiated, agencies are saying.
What do we know about the Palestinian prisoners?
Senior Hamas official Zaher Jabarin said that the militant group had handed over a list of Palestinian prisoners to be released.
Jabarin, who formed part of the Hamas delegation at the Sharm El-Sheikh negotiations, said in a statement that the list was prepared in accordance with "the criteria agreed upon in the agreement," AP reported.
He said the group still "awaiting final agreement on the names," and that they will be announced "once the relevant procedures and understandings are completed."
When will the hostages be freed?
The living hostages are apparently to be released within 72 hours, news agencies are reporting, although it is unclear if this is 72 hours from the deal being officially signed by both parties or Israel's cabinet approving it.
Either way, this could see Hamas, as well as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, releasing the living hostages as early as the weekend, AP news agency said, citing Hamas sources.
US President Donald Trump said late Wednesday that he believed all the hostages held in Gaza, including the bodies of those deceased, will be "coming back" Monday.
"We think they'll all be coming back on Monday, .. and that'll include the bodies of the dead," Trump said in a phone interview on Fox News.
What happens now?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would convene his cabinet on Thursday to seek approval for the withdrawal of Israeli forces to the agreed upon boundary.
A spokesperson confirmed that a cabinet session was scheduled for Thursday, according to agencies and Israeli media.
The time is as yet unclear.
What we know about the 'phase one' deal so far
This first-phase agreement includes the withdrawal of Israeli troops to an agreed upon boundary and an exchange of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners.
It is expected that the deal will officially be signed in Egypt on Thursday, news agencies and various Israeli media are reporting, although this hasn't been officially confirmed.
Details what this boundary is and when the hostage-prisoner exchange will take place haven't yet been released.
Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said on X that "the details will be announced later."
Hamas has said separately that the agreement also allows for the entry of aid into Gaza.
UN calls news of agreement a 'ray of hope'
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the Israeli-Hamas agreement on a ceasefire and prisoner-hostage exchange.
He urged all parties to "seize this momentous opportunity" and "abide fully by the terms of the agreement," he wrote on X.
He also commend "the diplomatic efforts of the United States, Qatar, Egypt & Türkiye in brokering this desperately needed breakthrough."
He said the United Nations will support the agreement's full implementation and is ready to scale up delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza that has been sitting on the borders of Jordan and Egypt.
The President of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, called the news a "ray of hope."
"After more than 700 days of death, destruction and despair we have to seize this moment offered by the announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas — to fully implement its conditions and end the war in Gaza," she wrote on X.
Both Guterres and Baerbock repeated the UN's commitment to a two-state solution to bring lasting peace to the region.
Hostage families chant 'Nobel prize to Trump' in Tel Aviv
Some of the families of hostages, along with their supporters, have begun gathering at the central Tel Aviv square that has become the main assembly point for those pushing for the release of the captives.
They started chanting "Nobel prize to Trump" as they spilled into the square in the early hours of the morning.
"Thank you to President Trump and everyone who helped bring my child and all the male and female hostages home," Einav Tzangauker, whose son Matan is among the Gaza hostages, told Israel's Ynetnews.
"I'm afraid to wake up and discover it's a dream," she was quoted as saying.
Hatan Angrest, who also has a son called Matan held captive in Gaza, said: "President Trump, thank you very much. We thank him, our children will not have returned home without him."
Crying tears of joy, families hugged previously released hostages as the square continued to fill with Israelis celebrating the news of the agreement.
