Trump announces deal reached on first part of his Gaza plan: ‘All hostages will be freed very soon’

US President Donald Trump announced late on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas have signed off on the “first phase” of his plan to secure the release of all hostages and end the Gaza war, two years and a day after the fighting was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel.

“This means that ALL of the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw [its] troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a strong, durable and everlasting Peace,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He later hailed the accord as “a great day for the world,” saying, “The whole world has come together on this one, Israel, every country has come together. This has been a fantastic day…  a wonderful day for everybody.”

Trump told Fox News that all the hostages would probably be released on Monday. “We think they will all be coming back on Monday… and that will include the bodies of the dead,” he said. “They [the hostages] are in a terrible situation there. They are deep, deep in the earth. As we speak, so much is happening to get the hostages freed.”

Other unconfirmed reports said all hostages would be freed by Monday, and indicated that Hamas would not hold the kind of propaganda ceremonies, on stage in front of large Gazan crowds, at which hostages were handed over to the Red Cross in previous deals.

Two sources familiar with the negotiations had earlier told The Times of Israel that Hamas would release all the remaining living hostages as early as Saturday. Twenty of the remaining 48 hostages are believed to be alive. All slain hostages that Hamas is able to locate are also to be released.

The deal will be formally signed at noon on Thursday in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh resort, the sources said, adding that the biggest issues in the Gaza talks have been resolved and what remains to be finalized is merely procedural.

Photographs and footage released from Sharm overnight Wednesday-Thursday showed various negotiators celebrating the success of the mediated Israel-Hamas talks. Israeli and Hamas delegations were not in the same room during the finalization of negotiations, a source present at the talks told The Times of Israel, after Egyptian media published footage that appeared to show the delegations on opposite sides of a square set up of tables in a conference center ballroom. The source clarified that the footage was comprised of two separate shots.

Trump is set to head to the region this weekend. Invited by Netanyahu to address the Knesset, in a phone call they held some two hours after he announced the deal, the president indicated he would do so.

“All parties will be treated fairly!” Trump stressed on Truth Social, in a message widely understood to be directed at Hamas, which has sought guarantees from the American leader that he will not allow Israel to resume the war once the hostages are released.

“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,” Trump continued.

“BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!” he added.

“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan… BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!” – President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/lAUxi1UPYh

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 8, 2025

 

Cabinet to meet on Thursday to ratify deal

Within seconds of Trump’s post, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement saying, “With God’s help, we will bring them all home.”

“A great day for Israel,” the premier said in a subsequent statement.

“I will convene the cabinet tomorrow [Thursday] to ratify the agreement and bring all our precious hostages home,” he said. The cabinet is expected to approve the deal with a substantial majority, though ministers from the coalition’s two far-right parties may not back it.

Netanyahu thanked Israel’s soldiers, “whose courage and sacrifice have brought us to this day,” along with Trump and his aides, “for their commitment to this sacred mission of freeing our hostages.”

“With God’s help, together, we will continue to achieve all our goals and expand peace with our neighbors,” Netanyahu added.

In a third statement, in English, Netanyahu wrote: “With the approval of the first phase of the plan, all our hostages will be brought home. This is a diplomatic success and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel.”

“From the beginning, I made it clear: we will not rest until all our hostages return and all our goals are achieved. 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. I thank President Trump for his leadership, his partnership, and his unwavering commitment to the safety of Israel and the freedom of our hostages,” the prime minister wrote.

Soon after Trump announced the deal, he and Netanyahu spoke by phone, and the prime minister invited the president to address the Knesset when he comes to the region this weekend. Trump told Channel 12’s Barak Ravid he would likely come to Israel and speak in the Knesset. “They want me to give a speech at the Knesset and I will definitely do that if they want me to,” Trump said. “It is a great day for Israel and for the world. My call with Bibi was great. He is so happy. He should be. It is a great achievement. The whole world has come together to reach this deal, including countries that were enemies.”

Netanyahu’s office said, “The two held a very emotional and warm conversation, congratulating one another on the historic achievement of signing the agreement for the release of all the hostages.”

In its own statement confirming the deal, Hamas said it had reached an agreement that ends the war, withdraws Israeli troops, secures the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and ensures the release of Palestinian prisoners. Nearly 2,000 of them will be released as part of the deal, including 250 serving life sentences.

The Hamas statement thanked the mediators, including Trump, “who has worked to bring about a complete and final cessation of the war and the full withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip.”

Related: Full text: Trump’s 20-point ‘comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict’

The initial partial withdrawal of Israeli troops ahead of the hostage release will leave Israel in control of just over a majority of the Strip. Hamas was working to secure a timetable for the pullout after earlier drafts of the plan described it as performance-based. It was unclear whether Hamas was able to change the terms.

“We call upon President Trump, the guarantor countries of the agreement, and all Arab, Islamic, and international parties to compel the occupation government to fully implement the obligations of the agreement and to prevent it from evading or delaying the implementation of what has been agreed upon,” Hamas said.

The terror group hailed the “steadfastness” of Palestinians, adding that “our people’s sacrifices will not be in vain. We pledge to remain faithful to our cause and never abandon our national rights until freedom, independence, and self-determination are achieved.”

Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari tweeted that mediators secured an agreement “on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid.”

“The details will be announced later,” he added.

The note that tipped reporters off

Trump told reporters earlier Wednesday that he planned to travel to the region this weekend — likely to Egypt — if a deal was inked.

Around an hour before Trump’s social media post, speculation had mounted that an announcement was imminent after photographers managed to snap photos of a note that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio passed to him during a White House meeting.

“Very close,” the note began, with the two words underlined. “You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.”

“I was just given a note by the secretary saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they’re going to need me pretty quickly,” Trump subsequently told reporters.

Trump’s announcement was greeted by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum with “excitement, hope and concern.”

“This is important and significant progress toward returning everyone, but our struggle has not ended and will not end until the last hostage returns,” the group said in a statement.

The forum called on the government to immediately hold a meeting to approve the agreement, warning that any delay could pose a risk to the captives and Israeli soldiers in Gaza.

The families also expressed “their deep thanks” to Trump and his administration, hailing his “leadership and determination which led to a historic breakthrough.”

“There are still 48 hostages in Hamas captivity. We are obliged morally and as a nation to return everyone home, the living and dead together,” the statement added.

How we got here

Top officials from Israel and Hamas, along with counterparts from mediating countries — the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey — were in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday in order to close remaining gaps in the negotiations after technical talks were held by lower-level teams on Monday and Tuesday.

It wasn’t immediately publicized who Israel would be releasing in exchange for the remaining hostages.

Under the proposed deal, Israel is to begin releasing Palestinian security prisoners once the hostage-release phase is completed.

Two hundred and fifty of the remaining 303 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli jails will be released, along with 1,700 Palestinians who have been detained in Gaza since October 7, 2023, including all women and children from Gaza held in that timeframe. Many of those detainees have been held by way of a controversial policy called administrative detention, without due process. For every slain hostage released by Hamas, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans that it is holding.

The Times of Israel previously reported that the terror group has, in the past, told mediators it does not know where some of the bodies of slain hostages are located.

Channel 12 reported that the understanding currently appears to be that once Hamas hands over all of the living hostages and all the dead hostages it can locate, and makes clear it is not holding any as bargaining chips, the prisoner releases will follow.

Israel will not free Hamas Nukhba terrorists who directly participated in the October 7 massacre, the report said. But there will be some “flexibility” on the issue of the release of some heavyweight terrorists serving life terms, many of whom Israel has refused to free in past deals.

An Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel earlier Wednesday that decisions regarding the identities of the Palestinian prisoners slated for release won’t be made until the final minutes before a deal is signed in order to avoid drawn-out negotiations.

Hamas is committed to securing the release of former Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti as part of the agreement with Israel to end the war, a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.

Barghouti is currently serving life in prison for planning attacks during the Second Intifada that killed five civilians. He has denied the crimes he was convicted of while rejecting the Israeli court’s jurisdiction.

The 66-year-old has been described as a potential successor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, as he has appeal among broad swaths of the Palestinian population, while maintaining support for a two-state solution.

Hamas’s leadership relayed to interlocutors that “Barghouti’s fate remains absolutely central to these talks,” the source said.

Families rejoice: ‘There is no happiness like this’

Relatives of the hostages expressed overwhelming joy and relief in initial responses to Trump’s announcement.

Liran Berman, whose twin brothers Gali and Ziv are held hostage in Gaza, posted a brief item expressing delight that they are to be released in the very near future. “My Gali and Zivi, I love you so much. You’re coming back home,” he wrote.

Their aunt, Maccabit Meir, told Channel 12 that “there is no happiness like this.”

She said, “So many people are so happy” to hear the news that the hostages are to be released. “I can’t tell you how many messages I’m getting.”

“It’s happening, it’s happening,” she repeated. “We were so afraid, and now I’m crying tears of happiness, not tears of fear.”

Merav Gilboa-Dalal, mother of hostage Guy, said, “The main thing is that my son should come back healthy and on his own two feet.”

“That’s what I wish for all of us,” she told Channel 12.

“Finally, this saga of the war, the injured, the dead, this pain of our heroic soldiers who gave their souls for us [is coming to an end], and the hostages, the victory, that they are all coming home,” Gilboa-Delal continued. “And I hope the slain hostages will all return at the same time, and that we can close this circle.”