Israel approves Trump’s plan for Gaza ceasefire and hostage release

US to send 200 troops to monitor Gaza ceasefire

The United States will deploy about 200 troops to Israel to help monitor and support the Gaza ceasefire deal, according to U.S. officials. The personnel will join an international team that includes partner nations, NGOs and private-sector groups. U.S. Central Command will set up a “civil-military coordination centre” in Israel to facilitate humanitarian aid, logistics and security assistance into Gaza.

Trump: Hostage release expected early next week

President Donald Trump said hostages held in Gaza are expected to be released on Monday or Tuesday. Speaking at a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump discussed the ceasefire deal and confirmed plans to travel to the Middle East soon. He called the release process “complicated” but assured it is moving forward.

War’s toll on Gaza and Israel

The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s military response has since killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, levelled large parts of Gaza and triggered global protests. The ongoing war has fuelled accusations of genocide, which Israel strongly denies.

A senior Hamas official said the US-mediated Gaza deal will see five border crossings opened for aid, 2,000 prisoners released, and Israeli troops withdraw from densely populated areas.

Osama Hamdan told Al Araby TV that 250 long-term prisoners and 1,700 captured during the war will be freed. He added that Israel should pull back from Gaza City, Khan Younis, Rafah, and northern Gaza. Troop withdrawals are expected to start Friday, possibly as early as Thursday.

Israel’s government has approved a deal paving the way for the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed.

Under the framework, Hamas will free the hostages — including the remains of those killed — in exchange for the release of more than 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Netanyahu described the decision as a “momentous development,” marking a major step toward ending the war that has devastated Gaza and strained regional stability.

US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff attended the cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. Their presence, according to officials, helped secure consensus within Israel’s government.

Netanyahu publicly thanked both during the meeting, saying Israel was “about to achieve” one of its central war aims — bringing home all hostages, “the living and the dead.”

Israel’s government has approved a deal paving the way for the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed.

Under the framework, Hamas will free the hostages — including the remains of those killed — in exchange for the release of more than 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Netanyahu described the decision as a “momentous development,” marking a major step toward ending the war that has devastated Gaza and strained regional stability.

Israeli tanks fired on crowds of displaced Palestinians gathering on Gaza’s main coastal road, hoping to return home in the north. The ceasefire deal with Hamas has not yet been ratified.

Military operations since late August forced hundreds of thousands south, and Israel warned the area remains a “dangerous combat zone.” Video footage showed smoke rising over the al-Rashid road as people fled from what appeared to be tank fire.

In a statement after a series of phone calls with his European counterparts on Thursday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty expressed his hope that the deal “would herald the end of a dark and painful chapter in the region’s history.”

He added that he hoped it would herald a new chapter “in which the Palestinian and Israeli people enjoy security and stability, opening the door to a just and lasting peace between them.”

“All action going forward must be guided by the immediate goals of ending the killing, starvation and destruction, and ensuring the safe and dignified return of hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians,” the UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk, said Thursday.

“Fulfilling the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and ensuring Palestinians and Israelis can live in peace and security, must remain the ultimate goal of the process,” he added.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the organisation and its partners are prepared to immediately scale up the delivery of food, water, medical aid, and shelter in Gaza.

He emphasised that lasting progress requires more than silencing the guns, calling for safe access for humanitarian workers, removal of bureaucratic obstacles, reconstruction of Gaza’s infrastructure, and sufficient funding to meet urgent needs.

Guterres urged seizing this “glimmer of relief” to pursue a political path toward ending Israel’s occupation and achieving a two-state solution.

President Trump told his Cabinet that hostages held in Gaza are expected to be freed Monday or Tuesday. He plans to travel to Egypt for a signing ceremony, though it’s unclear if he will visit other countries.

Trump described the release process as “complicated” and said the remains of about 28 hostages will also be returned, without providing further details or timing.

Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said efforts to advance the deal gained momentum after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in September to apologise for an Israeli strike in Qatar that targeted Hamas leadership. The call, made while Netanyahu was at the White House, was facilitated by President Donald Trump, the officials added.

The United States is sending about 200 troops to Israel to help support and monitor the Gaza ceasefire deal, officials said Thursday. The team will work alongside partner nations, NGOs, and private-sector groups to facilitate humanitarian aid, logistics, and security.

A civil-military coordination center will be set up in Israel, staffed by personnel with expertise in planning, transportation, and engineering. No US troops will enter Gaza, officials stressed.

The deployment comes after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a Trump-era peace plan, including the release of remaining hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, marking a major step toward ending two years of conflict.

The US Central Command will play a supervisory role in Gaza’s transition following a recent peace deal, officials said, though American forces will not be deployed inside the territory. Admiral Brad Cooper will lead a team of around 200 personnel in the region to help establish an international stabilisation force.

The move is part of President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan, agreed to by Israel and Hamas, aimed at ending the conflict. Cooper’s role will focus on monitoring the situation and preventing violations of the agreement.

Trump is expected to visit the region soon to witness the release of roughly 20 living hostages under the deal.

As part of the Gaza agreement reached overnight, 48 hostages still held in Gaza will be freed, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

The deal also includes the release of around 1,700 Palestinian prisoners by Israel.

The release list also includes 22 Palestinian minors currently held in Israeli prisons. Notable names reported by Haaretz include Baher Badr, who received 11 life sentences for attacking Israel’s Tzrifin military base, Ibrahim Alkam, convicted of shooting a mother and son in the West Bank in 1996, and Iham Kamamji, convicted of killing an Israeli hitchhiker in 2006.

The list of Palestinian prisoners set to be released from Israeli jails under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal has not yet been officially published. However, Israeli media outlets have reported names of several men reportedly due for release.

According to Israel’s Channel 12, about 1,700 Palestinians arrested since October 7, 2023, who did not take part in attacks on Israel, will be freed. An additional 250 prisoners serving life sentences for unrelated offences are also expected to be released.

The release list also includes 22 Palestinian minors currently held in Israeli prisons.

With Israel approving the first phase of the ceasefire deal on Thursday night, a prisoner-for-captives swap is expected in the coming days.

Hamas has 72 hours from Israel’s approval to release the 20 living captives it still holds in Gaza, meaning the release will likely occur on Sunday or Monday. Following that, Hamas will return the bodies of 28 deceased captives, though the timeline for that remains unclear.

Names of the living Israeli captives expected to be released:

• Matan Angrist

• Ziv Berman

• Gali Berman

• Elkana Bohbot

• Rom Breslavski

• Nimrod Cohen

• Ariel Cunio

• David Cunio

• Evitar David

• Guy Gilboa-Dalal

• Maxim Harkin

• Eitan Horn

• Segev Kalfon

• Bar Kuperstein

• Omri Miran

• Eitan Mor

• Yosef Haim Ohana

• Alon Ohel

• Avintan Or

• Matan Tsangoker

President Abdel Fattah El Sissi of Egypt is hailing the deal between Israel and Hamas as a “historic moment.”

“This agreement does not only close the chapter of war; it also opens the door of hope for the peoples of the region for a future defined by justice and stability,” El Sissi wrote in a social media post.

President Joseph Aoun said he hoped the plan would “constitute a first step toward a permanent ceasefire and an end to the humanitarian suffering of the brotherly Palestinian people in Gaza.”

In a statement, he called for “continued international and regional efforts to achieve a comprehensive and just peace in the region that guarantees the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people,” for Israel to “halt its aggressive policies in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.”

Israeli warplanes carried out intense airstrikes in the centre of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, early Friday morning, CNN reports.

The attacks began around 5:45 am local time (10:45 p.m. Thursday, ET). Israeli artillery continues to shell the area, with drones patrolling the city.

Eyewitnesses also reported airstrikes and artillery fire in Gaza City, particularly in the Al Sabra and Tal Al Hawa neighbourhoods.

The strikes in the north follow Thursday’s announcement that Israel agreed to the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan. Gaza’s civil defence urged residents to avoid border areas in Gaza City until the official withdrawal of Israeli forces is confirmed.

A ceasefire in Gaza is scheduled to take effect early Saturday, 24 hours after the Israeli government approved the deal, BBC News reports. Once implemented, the remaining hostages—around 20 believed to be alive—are expected to be released within 72 hours, while hundreds of Palestinians will be freed from Israeli jails.

Ahead of the vote, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump for helping negotiate the agreement.

Hamas’s exiled Gaza chief, Khalil Al Hayya, said he received guarantees from the United States and mediators that the war had officially ended.

Gaza’s Civil Defence has warned residents not to return to previously occupied areas until Israel officially announces troop withdrawals, CNN reports.

“Citizens in the Gaza Strip, especially those in Gaza City, are urged not to approach or return to areas where occupation forces were present, particularly near the borders, until an official withdrawal is confirmed by the relevant authorities,” the Civil Defence said.

Despite the ceasefire agreement, Israeli strikes continued Friday morning, prompting the safety advisory.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Friday that Israeli forces have begun pulling back from parts of the territory, particularly in Gaza City and Khan Yunis.

“Israeli forces have withdrawn from several areas in Gaza City,” said Mohammed Al Mughayyir, a senior official with the agency - a rescue force that operates under Hamas authority.

Residents of several areas of the Gaza Strip also said that the Israeli military appeared to have withdrawn from positions that they held on Thursday.

The International Committee of the Red Cross Friday said all releases of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners called for in the Gaza ceasefire agreement should be carried out "safely and with dignity".

"The coming days are critical. I urge the parties to hold to their commitments. Release operations must be carried out safely and with dignity," ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement, also calling for humanitarian assistance to "resume urgently at full capacity and be delivered to people safely wherever they are".

The Israeli military said Friday that the ceasefire agreement with Hamas came into effect at noon local time, and that troops were withdrawing to agreed-upon deployment lines.

The announcement came after Palestinians reported heavy shelling Friday morning in Gaza, hours after Israel's Cabinet approved President Donald Trump's plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the release of the remaining hostages and of Palestinian prisoners.

The Israeli military said several areas across Gaza remain "extremely dangerous" for civilians, as thousands of people headed north with a ceasefire taking effect on Friday.

"Movement from south to north in the Gaza Strip will be permitted via the Rashid (coastal) and Salah al-Din routes," the military said.

It said that people should avoid northern areas including Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, Shujaiya and any locations where troops were heavily deployed. Civilians were also warned to stay away from the Rafah crossing and Philadelphi Corridor near the border with Egypt, and any troop concentrations in the Khan Yunis region.

Qatar's prime minister, a key mediator in the Hamas-Israel conflict, said Friday that the success of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement was a collective responsibility.

"The success of this phase is a collective responsibility to ensure that the agreement is implemented and to achieve peace and stability," said Qatari Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in a statement on X.

Full of grief after two years of war but glad to be going home, thousands of displaced Palestinians set off across the Gaza Strip on Friday, as a truce between Israel and Hamas took hold.

Timidly at first, then in a huge column, thousands walked northwards in a line at least a kilometre long from the safer areas of central Gaza towards Gaza City, the scene of a gruelling Israeli offensive before Friday's ceasefire.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped Israel would mark a 'day of national joy' starting Monday night, when all living and deceased hostages are expected to be returned from Gaza.

"Citizens of Israel, two years ago, the Simhat Torah holiday became a day of national mourning," he said Friday in a televised statement, referring to the Jewish festival that begins at nightfall on Monday.

"This Simhat Torah, with God's help, will be a day of national joy, celebrating the return of all our brothers and sisters held hostage," he added, adding that Israel believes 20 hostages remain alive in Gaza, while 28 are deceased.

Israel's justice ministry published Friday a list of 250 prisoners to be released in exchange for hostages still held in Gaza, as part of a ceasefire deal with Hamas.

The list does not include the names of several senior Palestinian militant leaders seen as symbols of resistance and whose release Hamas has demanded.

Israel's Defense Forces have completed the first phase of their withdrawal from Gaza, commencing the 72-hour period for the hostages' release, a top White House envoy said Friday, citing the Pentagon.

The US military's Central Command "has confirmed that the Israeli Defense Forces completed the first phase withdrawal to the yellow line at 12PM local time," President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said on X. "The 72 hour period to release the hostages has begun."