Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal aimed at freeing the remaining living hostages and paving the way to end the devastating Gaza war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and triggered a deep humanitarian crisis.
The agreement, set to be signed on Thursday in Egypt, follows the 20-point peace plan unveiled last month by US President Donald Trump. It calls for Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and allow a major influx of humanitarian aid into Gaza after more than two years of conflict that began with Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel.
The Israeli military confirmed it is preparing to withdraw troops from Gaza as part of the accord. Later stages of Trump’s plan include Hamas’s disarmament and the establishment of a transitional authority to govern Gaza, to be headed by President Trump himself, though that point remains under discussion.
A Hamas source told AFP that, in the first phase of the deal, the group will exchange 20 living hostages for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners within 72 hours of implementation. The timing of the swap will be announced on Thursday, while Trump said he expects all hostages to “be coming back on Monday.”
‘Tears of Joy’ in Gaza
News of the ceasefire sparked emotional reactions across Gaza, where most residents have been displaced at least once since the war began.
“Honestly, when I heard the news, I couldn’t hold back. Tears of joy flowed,” said displaced Palestinian Samer Joudeh. “Two years of bombing, terror, destruction, loss, humiliation, and the constant feeling that we could die at any moment. Now, we finally feel like we’re getting a moment of respite.”
In southern Gaza’s Khan Yunis, crowds celebrated with singing, dancing, and clapping, according to AFP footage.
The negotiations conducted indirectly are taking place in Egypt’s Red Sea resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, with less fanfare than previous peace efforts, a possible sign of the complex issues still unresolved in the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Qatar confirmed the deal as the “first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement,” designed to end the war, secure the release of hostages and prisoners, and allow vital humanitarian aid into the enclave.
According to Hamas sources, 250 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment and 1,700 others arrested since the war began are to be freed in exchange for the hostages.
‘With God’s Help’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the deal, vowing to bring the hostages home “with God’s help.” His cabinet is expected to approve the agreement later Thursday.
The development came just a day after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was seen handing Trump an urgent note about progress in the negotiations during a White House event. Trump later told reporters, “I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday,” saying he would most likely visit Egypt and might also consider going to Gaza.
The ceasefire agreement comes as the region marks the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, which killed 1,219 people and led to 251 hostages being taken into Gaza. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has since killed at least 67,183 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, more than half of them women and children, figures the United Nations deems credible.
Despite the announcement, Gaza’s civil defence agency reported several airstrikes after the deal was made public, underscoring the fragile state of the truce.
Protests and Prisoner Demands
Global calls for peace have intensified amid reports of famine in Gaza and ongoing protests worldwide demanding an end to the war. A recent UN probe accused Israel of genocide, a claim rejected by the Israeli government, while Hamas has also faced allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
A central issue in the negotiations was the release of prominent Palestinian figures, including Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah leader imprisoned since 2002 who remains one of the most popular figures among Palestinians and is often called the “Palestinian Mandela.”
Hamas’s chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said the group is seeking “guarantees from President Trump and the sponsor countries that the war will end once and for all.”
What you should know
The Gaza ceasefire deal marks the most significant diplomatic breakthrough in the two-year conflict, driven largely by President Trump’s peace plan.
If successfully implemented, it could signal the end of one of the deadliest wars in recent Middle Eastern history and reshape regional politics for years to come.
