Gaza ceasefire live: Netanyahu to convene government to approve ‘first phase’; reports hostages will be released this weekend | Israel
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Trump hails ‘great day’ and says all parties will be treated fairly
Trump also said that “all parties will be treated fairly” as he announced the agreement, posting on Truth Social:
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!
The US president’s comments came in a post where he said Israel and Hamas had both signed off on the first phase of his 20-point plan.
Trump also said:
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.
Key events
Hostage families’ group says it is excited over Gaza deal
A group representing hostages’ families has received the ceasefire news with “excitement”.
The Hostages Families Forum said it received the news of a ceasefire with “excitement, anticipation and apprehension”, the Associated Press is reporting.
The forum – a grassroots organisation representing many of the hostage families, – called on the Israeli government to immediately convene to approve the deal, and praised Donald Trump for his “commitment and determination that led to this historic breakthrough”.
Trump announced earlier today that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the “first phase” of his peace plan to pause fighting and release at least some hostages and prisoners.
The US president posted on his Truth Social platform:
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.
Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will convene the Israeli government tomorrow in order to approve the peace deal, as reported earlier.
The Israeli prime minister said:
I thank President Trump and his team from the bottom of my heart for their commitment to this sacred mission of freeing our hostages.
Netanyahu also said he was pleased with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff for getting the deal closed. The two – respectively the president’s son-in-law and Trump’s Middle East envoy – earlier arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh to join the talks in Egypt.
In the lead-up to today’s peace deal announcement, Donald Trump’s secretary of state passed him a Gaza-related note – during an unrelated meeting – that was captured by news photographers and suggested a deal was “very close”.
Here’s our just-launched full report on what happened in the room.
Hamas to release all 20 living hostages this weekend – reports
Hamas is to release all 20 living hostages this weekend, sources have told the Associated Press, while the Israeli military is to withdraw from the majority of Gaza.
CNN is also reporting that the hostages are expected to be released on Saturday or Sunday, citing an Israeli source as saying.
Hamas is to release 20 live hostages in the first phase of the Gaza deal, a Palestinian source close to negotiations in Egypt has been quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying.
Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will convene the Israeli government tomorrow to approve the agreement and bring all the hostages home.
Hamas calls on Trump to ensure Israel implements deal
Hamas has reportedly said it reached an agreement on ending the Gaza war, saying the deal includes an Israeli withdrawal from the territory and a hostage-prisoner exchange.
Reuters also quotes a statement from the Palestinian militant as calling on Donald Trump and guarantor states to ensure Israel implements the deal.
Netanyahu comments after Trump’s peace plan announcement
Israeli prime minster Benjamin Netanyahu has said that “with God’s help we will bring them all home”, after Trump announced the first phase of Israel-Hamas peace deal.
Netanyahu made the comments in a brief statement, Reuters is reporting.
Trump hails ‘great day’ and says all parties will be treated fairly
Trump also said that “all parties will be treated fairly” as he announced the agreement, posting on Truth Social:
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!
The US president’s comments came in a post where he said Israel and Hamas had both signed off on the first phase of his 20-point plan.
Trump also said:
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 says all hostages will be released ‘very soon’
US president Donald Trump just said on his Truth Social platform:
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 says Israel and Hamas have signed off on ‘first phase’ of peace plan
Donald Trump has announced on social media that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first phase of a Gaza peace plan and that it means all of the hostages will be released very soon.
Hamas’ Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, is meeting with Egyptian intelligence head to put the finishing touches to a “historic” Gaza agreement, a source briefed on the talks said early on Thursday, according to the Reuters news agency.
An agreement could be announced on Thursday, the source added.
Recapping the latest, Donald Trump has said a deal to end the war in Gaza is “very close” and that he might travel to Egypt this weekend.
The US president offered the upbeat assessment on Wednesday, saying a deal was almost done and that he may travel to the Middle East this weekend, possibly leaving as soon as Saturday, if a ceasefire and hostage-release agreement is reached.
He later clarified that he would likely go to Egypt and the trip would probably be before or just after hostages are released, Reuters reported.
Trump said during an unrelated White House event:
I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they’re going to need me pretty quickly.
The hand-scrawled note on White House stationery read, “You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first,” the Associated Press later reported. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The developments came after Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner joined the talks in Egypt to try to seal a deal around the president’s 20-point plan.
Here’s the clip of Trump being passed the note and announcing to reporters that a deal is “very close”, via Sky News.
Watch as Donald Trump is handed a note by Marco Rubio during an event at the White House.
He tells reporters: ‘I was just given a note saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East and they’re going to need me pretty quickly’https://t.co/n5edP0ayFu
📺 Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/iCKA1W5Gdu
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 8, 2025
Donald Trump is “considering” going to the Middle East at the end of this week, the White House has reaffirmed.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has just released this statement:
On Friday morning, President Trump will visit Walter Reed Medical Center 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.
Note that Rubio hands Trump says Gaza deal is ‘very close’ and requests approval for a social media announcement
The Associated Press is reporting that the note Marco Rubio just handed Donald Trump appeared to say that a deal was “very close”, along with a request for Trump to give his OK to a social post related to a Gaza deal.
“Very close,” the note says underlined in a photograph captured by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci. “You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first,” the hand-scrawled note on White House stationery continues.
A senior White House official has told CNN we can expect a post on Truth Social soon from the US president.
