Live: Israel dropped 153 tonnes of bombs on Gaza on Sunday

An Israeli government spokesperson said that Marwan Barghouti will not be part of the prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.

Ceasefire will take effect within 24 hour of the cabiner meeting this afternoon, and afterwards the 72-hour period for the captives to be released will begin.

She added that the final draft of phase one was signed in Egypt this morning, noting that the “plan” was finalised during discussions there.

After the prisoners are released, the military will control and hold about 53 percent of Gaza, she added.

An Israeli government spokeswoman said that within 24 hours after the cabinet meeting today, scheduled for 14:00, there will be a ceasefire in Gaza.

Thousands of jubilant Israelis gathered in a Tel Aviv square on Thursday, hopeful for the return of captives held in Gaza, after two years of fear and worry. 

Many wore stickers reading "They're coming back", waving Israeli and US flags and clutching photos of the captives, after Israel and Hamas reached a captive exchange and truce deal in a major step towards ending Israel's war on Gaza. 

"We have been waiting for this day for 734 days. We cannot imagine being anywhere else this morning," said Laurence Ytzhak, 54, a Tel Aviv resident.

"It's a great joy – an immense relief mixed with anxiety, fear and sorrow for the families who haven't and won't get to experience this joy," he said.

Peacekeeping troops, a legal framework and a no longer dangerous Hamas are all necessary in the future as part of a plan for the Gaza Strip and will be discussed among international partners in Paris, said German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Thursday.

"Humanitarian and medical aid must now reach Gaza quickly; the people need prospects for reconstruction," he said on social media platform X.

Turkey will take part in a joint task force - alongside Israel, the United States, Qatar and Egypt - that will be established to locate the bodies of deceased Israeli captives in Gaza whose locations are unknown, a senior Turkish official said on Thursday.

Turkish officials took part in negotiations in Egypt that resulted in a ceasefire and a captive-prisoner exchange deal earlier on Thursday.

The Norwegian Refugee Council, one of the largest independent aid groups working in Gaza, said President Donald Trump's plan to increase aid to starving people as part of a ceasefire will fail unless all aid groups can resume operations.

"The desperation is deeper and the exhaustion is greater than anyone can imagine inside Gaza... It's not enough with some UN agencies and some few NGOs," Jan Egeland, NRC head, told Reuters in an interview via video link from Oslo.

"If not, the Trump peace plan will not succeed... We don't have time for more bureaucratic obstacles."

World Health Organization

Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the announcement a "big step towards lasting peace".

The WHO "stands ready to scale up its work to meet the dire health needs of patients across Gaza, and to support rehabilitation of the destroyed health system", he added.

"The best medicine is peace," he said.

"This is a pivotal moment for peace and renewal in the Middle East and opens a path that could finally end the intergenerational cycle of violence, suffering and terror that has plagued the region," European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia said it hoped "this important step will lead to urgent action to alleviate the humanitarian suffering... achieve a full Israeli withdrawal, restore security and stability, and initiate practical steps to achieve a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution", a foreign ministry statement said.

Russia

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed the deal. "We hope that signatures will be signed today, and that actions to implement the agreements will follow," he was quoted as saying by state news agency RIA Novosti.

China

Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing hoped for a "permanent and comprehensive" ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible, adding: "China advocates adhering to the principle that 'Palestinians should govern Palestine'."

UAE

The United Arab Emirates welcomed the agreement on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire framework, urging all parties to abide by its terms, the foreign ministry said.

Jordan

Jordan also hailed the deal in a statement, saying it should "lead to the end of the war, the implementation of the exchange agreement (of captives and prisoners) and Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid".

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees welcomed the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas as a "huge relief", and said it was ready to flood Gaza with desperately needed food.

"Unrwa has food, medicines and other basic supplies to go to Gaza. We have enough to provide food for the entire population for the coming three months," the agency's chief, Philippe Lazzarini, said on X.

The agreement to finally secure a ceasefire in #Gaza & release the hostages is a huge relief.

It will bring respite to people who survived the worst bombardment, displacement, loss and grief for two long years.
After their excruciating ordeal, hostages & Palestinian detainees…

— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) October 9, 2025

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the ceasefire in Gaza will take effect only after receiving cabinet approval.

"Contrary to Arab media reports, the 72-hour countdown will begin only after the agreement is approved in the cabinet meeting, which is expected in the evening hours," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a Gaza deal involving the exchange of captives and Palestinian prisoners, with the swap set to occur within 72 hours of the deal's implementation.

France hosts foreign ministers on Thursday from Arab and European countries, for talks on helping the Palestinians once Israel's war on Gaza ends.

The meeting comes hours after the two sides agreed on a ceasefire deal.

French President Emmanuel Macron recognised a Palestinian state in a 22 September speech at the United Nations, on the heels of similar announcements by Canada, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

The agreement on the first stage of US President Donald Trump's plan for ending Israel's war on Gaza went into effect on Thursday at 9am GMT, Egyptian state-affiliated TV al-Qahera news reported.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi hailed the deal "to establish a ceasefire and end the war in Gaza after two years of suffering and woes".

He said the agreement, reached after days of talks in Egypt, was a "historic moment" that "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."

After two years of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, US President Donald Trump announced early on Thursday that a ceasefire has been agreed by both sides.

According to Qatar, Israel and Hamas have agreed on the details of the first phase of a deal to bring an end to the war, part of the US’s “peace plan". 

Details of the first phase have not yet been officially released.

However, media reports indicate it includes three main provisions: a prisoner exchange, the entry of humanitarian aid, and a phased Israeli withdrawal.

Within 72 hours of signing the agreement - expected to take place later on Thursday in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh - all of the remaining 20 living Israeli captives will be released at once, without any formal ceremony.

Read more: Gaza ceasefire: What we know about the first phase

The Israeli military arrested at least nine people during raids across the occupied West Bank on Thursday, according to the Wafa news agency.

The report said men were arrested in several locations: two in the city of Nablus, three in the nearby Balata refugee camp, one each in Hebron governorate’s al-Sura village and Beit Ummar town, one in the city of Bethlehem, another in the nearby village of Hindazah, and one in Tulkarm governorate’s Attil town, north of Tulkarm city.

Palestinians in southern Gaza clapped, cheered and danced in the pre-dawn darkness on Thursday, after Israel and Hamas agreed a ceasefire deal on Thursday.

A crowd of around a dozen young men shouted joyful chants of "Allahu akbar", meaning God is the greatest, outside Khan Younis's Nasser Hospital, as one man lifted another onto his shoulders.

A man wearing a journalist's press vest could also be seen carried above the crowd, speaking into a microphone.

"Thanks to God for this ceasefire, thanks for the end of the bloodshed and the killing," said Abdelmajid Abedrabbo, a resident of south Gaza.

"I am not the only one who is happy, all of the Gaza Strip is happy, all of the Arab people are happy about the ceasefire," he added. 

"Thanks and love to all those who stood with us and played a part in ending the bloodshed, sending you love from Gaza."