Israeli Cabinet approves Trump’s plan for Gaza ceasefire and release of Hamas hostages

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said that, according to the agreement, the ceasefire should begin immediately.

The official said the Israeli military now has 24 hours to pull back its forces to an agreed-upon line.

That’s according to two U.S. officials who were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

They said efforts to reach a deal gained additional leverage with a call that the Israeli Prime Minister made to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani in September to apologize for an Israeli strike in Qatar that Israel said targeted Hamas’ leadership.

The call was facilitated by Trump and made while Netanyahu was at the White House, the officials said.

That includes whether and how Hamas will disarm, and who will govern Gaza.

Under the plan, Hamas will release all 20 living hostages in the coming days in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, while the Israeli military will begin a withdrawal from the majority of Gaza.

Trump said Thursday that he expects the hostages will be released from Gaza on Monday or Tuesday.

Israel’s Cabinet has approved the “outline” of a deal to release hostages held by Hamas, Netanyahu’s office said early Friday.

The move marks a key step in implementing a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that was brokered by Trump.

The brief statement focused on the hostage release and made no mention of the other parts of Trump’s plan for ending the war. Israel is expected to release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the remaining 48 hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Around 20 of the hostages are believed to be alive.

After Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of the Trump administration plan to halt the fighting, a litany of questions remain on next steps, including Hamas disarmament, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a future government in the territory.

One of the officials said the new team would help monitor implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the transition to a civilian government in Gaza.

A coordination center will be staffed by about 200 U.S. service members who have expertise in transportation, planning, security, logistics and engineering, said the official, who noted that no American troops will be sent into Gaza.

A second official said troops would come from U.S. Central Command as well as other parts of the globe. That official added that troops already have begun arriving and will continue to travel to the region over the weekend to begin planning and efforts to establish the center.

The officials said that the U.S. team detected a shift in posture from the militants recently and that it provided an opening to finally reach a ceasefire deal.

The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

The United States is sending the troops to Israel to help support and monitor the ceasefire deal in Gaza as part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organizations and private sector players, U.S. officials say.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not authorized for release, say U.S. Central Command is going to establish a “civil-military coordination center” in Israel that will help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance into the territory wracked by two years of war.

Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner on Thursday visited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office where they made a presentation on the plan to his cabinet on the merits of the deal, according to a senior U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

The 20-point plan that Trump released for Gaza was written by Witkoff and Kushner, according to the official.

The Brazilian government recognized the important role played by the United States, and the efforts of the mediating countries such as Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.

“Brazil urges the parties to comply with all terms of the agreement,” the statement said, calling for good-faith negotiations on Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza, as well as the swift reconstruction of the territory under Palestinian oversight.

Hamas sharply condemned Israel for an airstrike late Thursday in Gaza City that medics say wounded dozens and killed at least two people. The group accused Netanyahu of trying to “shuffle the cards” and hamper mediators’ efforts to end the war, and called on the U.S., Egypt and Qatar to push Israel to halt the strikes.

The Palestinian militant group said the airstrike showed that Netanyahu is insisting “to continue the genocide until the last moments.” Israel denies it’s committing genocide in Gaza.

The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas “terrorist cell” in northern Gaza that posed an immediate threat to nearby soldiers.

The speaker of Israel’s Knesset has formally invited Trump to address the country’s elected assembly as a sign of gratitude for the Gaza ceasefire deal.

Amir Ohana said it would be the first such address by an American president since then-President George W. Bush visited Israel in 2008.

“The people of Israel regard you as the greatest friend and ally of the Jewish nation in modern history,” he wrote in the invitation.

Ohana also cited decisions taken during Trump’s first term to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, recognize Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights seized from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war, and his brokering of the Abraham Accords in which four Arab countries forged ties with Israel.

The president was asked about an element of his peace proposal that says there may eventually be a path for Palestinian statehood if “conditions” are in place, and Trump said, “We’re going to see how it all goes.”

“There’s a point at which we may do something that would be a little bit different and may be very positive for everybody. But we’ll be looking at that at the time,” Trump said.

The president added that he was hopeful things would progress that far, adding: “I think we’ll get to that period, too.”

The president didn’t have any specifics of what kind of international security force might be used to implement the ceasefire deal. Trump’s plan released last month called for a “Temporary International Stabilization Force” that the U.S. would develop with Arab and international partners.

Trump said “There’s going to be a large group of people determining what it will be” but said that “very rich countries are going to be funding it.”

The Israeli prime minister’s office says Netanyahu is now in a meeting with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who arrived in the country earlier Thursday evening after flying from Egypt.

Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s public security minister and a key Netanyahu ally, said Thursday night that he and members of his far-right Jewish Power party will vote against the ceasefire plan.

Ben Gvir said he “refused to be part of a government that allows the continuation of Hamas rule in Gaza” and accused the Israeli public of overlooking the dangers of releasing hundreds of convicted militants.

His opposition is unlikely to threaten the plan’s approval, which is expected to pass by a wide margin.

Ben Gvir resigned from Netanyahu’s government at the start of the previous ceasefire in January of this year, before rejoining the coalition hours after Israel ended the ceasefire and restarted military operations in March.

The Palestinian Civil Defense rescue group says an Israeli strike on a house in Gaza City has killed at least two women and that more than 40 people are still under the rubble.

The strike late Thursday came just hours before a ceasefire in Gaza was expected to go into effect.

Civil Defense said rescue efforts were still ongoing under “harsh and dangerous circumstances” at the scene of the strike in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood.

The Israeli military later said a strike in northern Gaza had struck Hamas militants who posed an immediate threat to nearby Israeli soldiers. It was not immediately clear if that referred to the deadly strike on the home in Gaza City.

A senior Hamas official and lead negotiator made a speech laying out what he says are the core elements of the ceasefire deal: completely ending the war in Gaza, releasing more than 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, opening the border crossing with Egypt, allowing aid to flow, and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Khalil al-Hayya said the Trump administration and mediators gave assurances that the 2-year war is over.

“We declare today that we have reached an agreement to end the war and the aggression against our people,” Al-Hayya said in a televised speech Thursday evening.

He said Israel will release 250 prisoners serving long sentences and about 1,700 people detained in Gaza since the war began. All women and children held in Israeli jails will be freed, he added. He didn’t offer details on the extent of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

He said Hamas and other Palestinian factions will now focus on achieving self-determination and establishing a Palestinian state.

The former president didn’t mention Trump as he posted a statement on X Thursday that was supportive of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal.

“It now falls on Israelis and Palestinians, with the support of the U.S. and the entire world community, to begin the hard task of rebuilding Gaza – and to commit to a process that, by recognizing the common humanity and basic rights of both peoples, can achieve a lasting peace,” Obama wrote.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said “we very much hope that these initiatives of the U.S. President will be implemented,” speaking at the Russia-Central Asia summit in Tajikistan’s capital on Thursday.

He reaffirmed Russia’s view that “the most important, indispensable condition for the long-term stabilization and resolution of all issues related to this difficult problem is the creation of an independent Palestinian state.”

The U.S. president says he has been invited to speak before the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, when he travels to the Middle East in the coming days.

“If they would like me to, I will do it,” Trump said, noting that he had been invited to speak.

He said he would be the first U.S. president to address the Knesset, but that’s not accurate. Former president George W. Bush spoke before the parliamentary body in May 2008.

The days ahead could be politically tricky for Netanyahu.

Israel’s leader has been shadowed by an ongoing corruption trial as he navigated the Gaza war. His grip on power has been largely contingent on the support of hardline, far-right coalition partners who had been urging him to continue to prosecute operations on Hamas until the group was eliminated.

But Trump suggested Netanyahu’s political standing has been bolstered by the ceasefire and hostage deal.

“I think he’s very popular right now. He’s much more popular today than he was five days ago,” Trump said of Netanyahu. “I can tell you right now people shouldn’t run against him. Five days ago, might not have been a bad idea.”

When the ceasefire deal takes effect, Saeed Abu Elaish, a Palestinian medic, plans to go back to the remains of his house in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp.

Two dozen members of his family, including his wife and their two daughters, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in October 2023.

“I just want to touch the place that was our home and tell those I lost that I am still here,” he said somberly. He views the pause in fighting as a “significant step” even it comes too late.

“This ceasefire, although necessary, doesn’t mean the end,” he told The Associated Press. “I am concerned that this calm could be temporary, and that the bombing will return.”

Abu Elaish was forced to flee Gaza City late last month and has been sheltering in central Gaza.

Trump last month gathered with the leaders of eight Arab or predominantly Muslim countries on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly to discuss strategy on ending the Israel-Hamas conflict and a plan for post-war Gaza.

Days after that meeting, Trump met at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the plan and the two leaders agreed to Trump’s 20-point proposal to end the war.

Rubio noted that Trump’s negotiators then stepped up their efforts through intermediaries in Qatar and Egypt to get Hamas on board. Trump, meanwhile, held “extraordinary” phone calls and meetings with world leaders “that required a high degree of intensity and commitment” to get the deal to the finish line.

“I think what’s important to understand is that yesterday what happened was really a human story,” Rubio said. He added, “Perhaps the entire story will be told about the events of yesterday. But, suffice it to say, it’s not an exaggeration, none of it would have been possible without the president of the United States being involved.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it supports any effort that halts the war in Gaza, ensures Israeli troops withdraw, delivers humanitarian aid and restores Palestinians’ rights.

The ministry warned that the international community must stay alert for possible Israeli violations and urged global courts to pursue accountability for alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza. Experts and major rights groups have accused Israel of genocide. Israel vehemently denies the allegations.

The statement on Telegram said Tehran has used “all its diplomatic capacities” over the past two years to pressure Israel and its allies to stop the fighting.

Separately, Ali Akbar Velayati, senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote on X that the Gaza cease-fire “may be the prelude to the end of cease-fires in other regions.”

Tom Fletcher, the U.N. humanitarian chief, said that in the last several months, humanitarian partners have only been able to deliver 20% of the aid needed to address the dire situation throughout the Gaza Strip. Officials have been in constant direct contact with Israeli officials in the last 12 hours to get the go-ahead to bring the aid already in the pipeline in the West Bank, Jordan Egypt and Cyprus.

But Fletcher warned that the 170,000 metric tons of aid is just the tip of the iceberg for what is needed in Gaza, calling on developed countries to scale up contributions to the effort.

“So every government, every state, every individual who has been watching this crisis unfold and wondering, ‘What can we do? If only there is something we can do,’ Now is the time to make that generosity count,” he said. “And I plead with the level of kindness and generosity that, frankly, the world owes right now.”

Addressing reporters and jubilant crowds at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, several former hostages said they were “indescribably happy” at the prospect of the imminent release from Gaza of all remaining hostages — reminded of the moment they themselves were told they would be going home.

“I can’t stop thinking about what the hostages still there are going through,” said ex-hostage Amit Soussana, “Do they believe that this time they’re really coming home?”

Omer Shem Tov, who was released from Hamas captivity in the last ceasefire, said he “jumped up and down with joy” at the news of the deal, but added that “it isn’t over yet” and called on the Israeli public to “keep fighting for their release.”

Their statements were interrupted by cheering and clapping crowds, and chants of “bring them home now.’

Tom Fletcher, the U.N. humanitarian chief, told reporters Thursday that officials have 170,000 metric tons of medicine, aid and other supplies ready for Gaza once they are given a green light.

“We are ready to roll,” Fletcher said, warning that there should be no “backsliding” from either side of the agreement. He outlined the plans for the first 60 days of the ceasefire, which would include an increase in the the pipeline of supplies to hundreds of trucks everyday.

“We will scale up the provision of food across Gaza to reach 2.1 million people who need food aid, and around 500,000 people who need nutrition,” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron has cautioned that Israeli settlement in the West Bank could undermine the pause in the Hamas-Israel war.

He said the accelerating construction of Israeli settlements “represents an existential threat to the state of Palestine. Not only is it unacceptable and contrary to international law, it feeds tensions, violence, instability and in effect contradicts the American plan and our collective ambition for a region at peace.”

He also suggested that West Bank settlement cannot be justified by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, saying it “has nothing to do with Hamas and Oct. 7, 2023.” He spoke at the opening of a meeting of European and Middle East foreign ministers in Paris.

The European Union has expressed readiness to support police and humanitarian aid programs in Gaza if the ceasefire holds, the top diplomat for the 27-nation bloc said Thursday.

“We need to plan for the day after,” Kaja Kallas said before a meeting in Paris of top diplomats from Europe and Middle East.

Kallas said an EU humanitarian aid team stands ready at the Rafah border crossing in Egypt, and that its assistance mission to the Palestinian Authority’s police could support a “stabilization force” in Gaza.

The president opened a meeting with his Cabinet at the White House on Thursday by speaking about the ceasefire deal and his plans to travel to the Middle East.

Trump said he will be going to Egypt for a signing ceremony. It was not clear if he would be traveling elsewhere on the trip.

He said it is a complicated process for the hostages to be released from Gaza, but it will be happening Monday or Tuesday. He said there will also be the remains of about 28 hostages to be brought back, but he didn’t offer details or timing on that.

Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff as well as Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, landed in Israel Thursday night, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Their arrival comes as Israel’s Security Cabinet is set to vote on the first phase of Trump’s deal and ahead of the release of the hostages, which is expected within the next few days.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Thursday emphasized the urgency of delivering food and medical aid to Gaza. He says Germany is ready to help, especially with medical supplies.

Wadephul stressed the need to focus on the people in Gaza once a ceasefire is in place and efforts to free hostages begin. He credited the U.S. administration and Trump for the progress,

He also said the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains the goal, but many stages are needed. Wadephul called for the U.N. to play a decisive role.

An Arab American group that backs President Donald Trump has praised the deal reached between Israel and Hamas as a significant step toward stability and justice in the Middle East.

The Arab Americans for Peace, or AAFP, commended Trump for “his unwavering commitment” to peace and for demonstrating the power of diplomacy in the face of decades of entrenched conflict.

The group’s chairman, Bishara Bahbah, said the deal reached “is not just a diplomatic achievement — it is a lifeline for thousands of families who have lived under the shadow of war for far too long.”

AAFP said the agreement offers hope to a region long plagued by violence and mistrust.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the U.N. and its partners can move now to scale up the delivery of food, water, medical assistance and shelter supplies.

But the U.N. chief said “to turn this ceasefire into real progress, we need more than the silencing of the guns.”

Guterres called for safe access for humanitarian workers, the removal of red tape and other impediments, the rebuilding of Gaza’s shattered infrastructure and funding to meet the immense needs.

The secretary-general told U.N. reporters in New York that the “glimmer of relief” for Israelis and Palestinians must be seized to establish a political path toward ending Israel’s occupation and achieving a two-state solution.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi met with U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner in Cairo Thursday.

Witkoff and Kushner arrived from Sharm el Sheikh, where a ceasefire deal was brokered.

In a statement after the meeting, the president’s office welcomed the ceasefire agreement, adding that he is eager to celebrate the signing of the deal soon. The statement also said that ending the war is in the “wills of all countries.”

The president also reiterated his invitation to President Trump to visit Egypt to “witness the signing of this historic agreement in a ceremony befitting the occasion.”

Barghouti, the most popular and unifying Palestinian political figure, has spent more than two decades In Israeli detention and is widely seen as a potential successor to President Mahmoud Abbas, the current leader of the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority.

On Thursday, an Israeli government spokeswoman said Israel does not intend to release Barghouti as part of the agreement reached with Hamas. “I can tell you at this point in time that he will not be part of this release,” Shosh Bedrosian said.

Barghouti was arrested in 2002 and later given five life sentences by an Israeli court over deadly attacks during the 2000 intifada, or Palestinian uprising.

Hamas leaders have in the past demanded that Israel release Barghouti, a leader of the militant group’s main political rival, Fatah, as part of any deal to end the fighting in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly refused.

“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 U.N. 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.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey will “hopefully” take part in a task force “that will monitor the implementation of the (ceasefire) agreement on the ground.”

Erdogan did not provide further details Thursday.

He said getting humanitarian aid into Gaza urgently, ensuring the exchange of hostages and prisoners, and pressing Israel to stop its military actions and “retreat to the designated lines” are of utmost importance.

Turkey, which has close ties to Hamas, helped broker the agreement, along with the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

Syria has welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza and expressed hope that the deal would alleviate the suffering of Palestinians and open the way for humanitarian aid, “thus paving the way for a phase of regional stability.”

Syria and Israel recently agreed to a ceasefire, following airstrikes Israel launched. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in September that Israel has made “progress” in discussions with Syria on a possible security pact, though he warned a final deal was still distant.

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.”

Thousands of people have streamed into a square in Tel Aviv that has turned into the epicenter of the movement to bring home the hostages.

Many sang and danced as they waved Israeli and American flags. Secular and religious families brought their children, who are on vacation from school for the holiday of Sukkot.

“It feels like we can finally see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel we have all been walking through,” said Einav Kahila, a 25-year-old student who came from Jerusalem. “There’s a lot of anxiety, also, because we’re always feeling unsure or insecure about the situation. But the people that came here today chose to be on the side of optimism.”

The celebrations appeared more muted than previous public reactions to ceasefires, reflecting the despair that has settled over the country as the war ground on for two years.

“Of course, it’s not over until it’s over, but today is a today we can have a little bit more hope,” said Avi Duek, a teacher in the nearby city of Ramat Gan who came to Hostages Square with his 14-month-old son.