Palestinian youths celebrate near Deir al-Balah's Shuhada al-Aqsa hospital in the central Gaza Strip on October 9, 2025, following news of a Gaza ceasefire deal. The first phase of a ceasefire framework will allow for the release of all hostages held in Gaza, Israeli withdrawal to an agreed point and the release of some Palestinian prisoners, marking a major step toward ending the two-year war. Photo: VCG
The agreement was secured overnight after days of indirect negotiations between the warring sides in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Bloomberg reported.
The talks are being brokered by the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey and based on a plan unveiled by US President Donald Trump early last week, according to the report.
The accord, if fully implemented, would bring the two sides closer than any previous effort to halt a war that had evolved into a regional conflict, drawing in countries such as Iran, Yemen and Lebanon, deepened Israel's international isolation and reshaped the Middle East, Reuters reported.
But the deal announced by Trump late on Wednesday was short on detail and left many unresolved questions that could still lead to its collapse, as has happened with previous peace efforts, according to the Reuters report.
Preparing to implement
Israel and Hamas are preparing to implement a Gaza ceasefire agreement, with an official signing ceremony expected later Thursday in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh following three days of intensive negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the US, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan announced on Thursday that the Gaza ceasefire agreement will go into effect immediately after the Israeli government approves it, Xinhua reported.
The agreement represents a final cessation of hostilities on Gaza, Hamdan told the Qatari Alaraby Television Network in an interview, stressing that any prisoner exchange will not take place until a complete cessation of hostilities is declared.
"The ceasefire was supposed to go into effect at 12 pm local time (0900 GMT), but the agreement still requires Israeli government approval. Therefore, the international community must monitor Israeli behavior to ensure adherence to the agreement and prevent attempts to circumvent it," Hamdan said.
Earlier, Egypt's Cairo News Channel reported that mediating parties including Egypt and Qatar had announced that a consensus had been reached on all terms and implementation mechanisms of the new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations for the first phase, and the final version of the agreement was being drafted.
An Israeli source said the hostages are expected to be released on Saturday or Sunday, according to the CNN.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the first phase of the peace deal "a great day for Israel" in a latest statement, saying he will convene Israel's government to approve the agreement and "bring all our dear hostages home," BBC reported on Thursday.
Hamas also said in a statement Thursday that the agreement will "end the war on Gaza, ensure the complete withdrawal of the occupation forces, allow the entry of humanitarian aid, and implement a prisoner exchange." It calls on Trump and other parties to "ensure that the Israeli occupation government fully complies with the terms of the agreement".
AP News reported that 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.
Israel's ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, said that once Israel's security cabinet convenes later on Thursday - in a meeting in which they will approve a list of Palestinian prisoners for release - there will be a 72-hour countdown for Hamas to release the remaining living Israeli captives from Gaza. Leiter also cautioned that while Israel hopes the ceasefire will permanently end the war, that will depend on how well its terms are implemented by Hamas, Al Jazeera reported.
The announcement comes just hours after Trump said he may travel to the Middle East this weekend, and was open to potentially traveling to the Gaza Strip, reported CBS News.
A little over a week ago, Trump unveiled a 20-point peace plan at a White House meeting with Netanyahu, who expressed his full support for the proposal, CBS News reported.
Since the war erupted on October 7, 2023, Israeli strikes have devastated the Gaza Strip, causing widespread famine and displacement, and killing at least 67,194 people and injuring 169,890 others, Gaza-based health authorities said Thursday, per Xinhua.
Zhu Yongbiao, director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at Lanzhou University, told the Global Times on Thursday that if the deal is effectively implemented, it would mark a major breakthrough in the two-year conflict.
Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, maintained a cautiously optimistic attitude, noting that the deal may yield results in terms of a temporary ceasefire and hostage release in the short term, but added that long-term peace still faces significant challenges.
The fate of Hamas remains a point of contention, as Israel has insisted on completely destroying Hamas, while Trump has proposed to disarm Hamas; another sticking point is the future governance of Gaza, Liu said.
According to Trump's 20-point plan, Hamas would be replaced by a "technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee" overseen by a "Board of Peace," with Trump as chairman and a leadership role for Tony Blair.
This arrangement, resembling historical mandates or trusteeships, risks causing a de facto division of Palestine, posing a major challenge for Gaza's future, Liu told the Global Times.
Additionally, from Israel's perspective, while facing intense diplomatic pressure from the international community, it still retains the option to resume military action if Hamas' action fails to meet its demands, the expert warned.
World reactions
Commenting on the proposed deal on Gaza, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Thursday that China hopes that a full and permanent ceasefire in Gaza will be realized as early as possible, the humanitarian crisis will be effectively eased, and tensions in the region will be diffused.
China upholds the principle of "the Palestinians governing Palestine" and promotes the implementation of the two-State solution. We stand ready to work with the international community to make unremitting effort towards an early, full, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question and a peaceful and stable Middle East, Guo said.
World leaders on Thursday expressed hope for peace and urged Israel and Hamas to fulfill their commitments.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement that "The United Nations will support the full implementation of the agreement and will scale up the delivery of sustained and principled humanitarian relief," while urging all parties "to seize this momentous opportunity to establish a credible political path forward towards ending the occupation."
EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security Kaja Kallas, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi are among those welcoming the progress. They expressed hope that parties involved will take this opportunity to move toward an enduring peace, per media reports on Thursday.
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