PinnedUpdated Oct. 9, 2025, 8:40 a.m. ETIsrael and Hamas on Thursday edged closer to ending their devastating two-year war, agreeing on the initial terms of a deal that could pave the way to an imminent cease-fire and bringing relief to the families of Israeli hostages and to two million Palestinians in Gaza.The two sides were preparing for an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners after reaching an agreement overnight, the culmination of sustained pressure from President Trump and Arab mediators. The exchange is expected to begin as soon as this weekend. Mr. Trump suggested that he would travel to the region over the weekend, and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had invited him to address Israel’s Parliament.Though details were scarce, and the text of the agreement had not been made public, it promised at least a cease-fire if not a permanent end to a conflict that has set off a humanitarian catastrophe and widespread hunger in Gaza, battered Hamas militarily and left Israel exhausted and isolated internationally. It has also fueled an alarming rise in antisemitic violence across the world.Mr. Netanyahu was convening his cabinet on Thursday to sign off on the agreement, which an Israeli official briefed on the matter said would mark the start of a formal cease-fire. The deal’s first phase requires Israel to pull back its troops to an agreed-upon line in Gaza. The Israeli military said that it was preparing to lead the operation for the hostages’ return and to “transition to adjusted deployment lines soon.”Hamas called on Mr. Trump and others to compel Israel “to fully implement the agreement’s requirements and not allow it to evade or delay” carrying them out.But some of the most difficult issues between Israel and Hamas appeared to have been left to a future phase of negotiations, including who would rule postwar Gaza and whether, to what degree and how Hamas would lay down its weapons.In Gaza, where food shortages have led international experts to declare a famine in part of the territory, aid workers expressed hope that they could soon begin speeding supplies to the hungry. Hamas and Qatar, one of the countries brokering the negotiations, also indicated in statements that the agreement would allow for the entry of aid into Gaza.Hours after Mr. Trump announced the “historic” deal, the Israeli military reminded residents of Gaza in a statement that its troops continued to occupy the territory and were still fighting a war. Explosions and smoke rose from Gaza on Thursday morning, indicating that Israeli military operations were continuing even as a cease-fire was expected to begin soon.Here’s what else to know:Details unclear: Officials didn’t elaborate on the specifics of the hostages-for-prisoners exchange or the lines to which Israeli forces would pull back. It was also uncertain that the agreement would translate into a permanent end to the war. One important sticking point is that Hamas has publicly rejected Mr. Netanyahu’s insistence that it disarm. Here’s what to know about the deal ›Toll of war: The war in Gaza started in October 2023 when Hamas led an attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking about 250 hostages. The Israeli military has since killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, including civilians and combatants, according to the Gaza health ministry, and reduced the territory’s infrastructure to ruins.Hope in Gaza: Palestinians in Gaza welcomed the announcement, but many had questions about what it will mean for them, their loved ones and their devastated communities. The situation had not changed in any material way on Thursday morning — food, water and medicine remained scarce and their cityscapes remained ruined — but there were reasons for hope. Read more ›Relief in Israel: Israel believes that about 20 living hostages are still being held in Gaza along with the remains of 28 others who died in captivity. A sense of elation swept Israel on Thursday as news of the deal broke, and many rushed to the so-called Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to celebrate.Pressure on Israel: Israel’s Sept. 9 strike targeting Hamas representatives in Qatar motivated an angry Mr. Trump and his advisers to push Mr. Netanyahu to supporting a framework for ending the war, which Mr. Trump unveiled late last month. Read more ›Oct. 9, 2025, 9:11 a.m. ETChildren looked at a poster showing Israeli hostages held in Gaza while at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on Thursday.Credit...David Guttenfelder/The New York TimesHamas took a significant risk by agreeing to release the remaining hostages in Gaza, giving up much of the leverage it has with Israel with no certainty that it would achieve all of what it wanted in return.The Palestinian militant group had long said it was willing to release all the hostages in exchange for the complete withdrawal of Israeli military forces from Gaza, a permanent end to the war and the release of Palestinian prisoners. The deal reached on Thursday only guarantees one of those three things: the prisoner release.There is no certainty it will lead to the end of the war and, initially, it only provides for a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces.Analysts said that was a big compromise that reflected how Hamas had been severely weakened during the two-year war and had come under tremendous pressure recently from important allies such as Qatar and Turkey.“Hamas just made major concessions,” said Esmat Mansour, a Palestinian analyst who spent years in Israeli prisons with Hamas leaders. “It is taking a risk in believing the war will end, but it also has few other options at its disposal.”The agreement calls for the exchange of all the surviving hostages, and the bodies of others, for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.The deal does not address a number of issues that have been stubborn sticking points in past rounds of Gaza cease-fire negotiations, leaving them for future discussions, according to two officials from an Arab mediating country, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details.The outstanding issues include a plan for postwar governance of Gaza and Israel’s longstanding demand for Hamas to disarm.These officials said that, by agreeing, Hamas put its trust in the United States to ensure Israel does not restart the war.In future negotiations, Hamas could still extract concessions from Israel, possibly leaving it with some access to weapons and a role in postwar Gaza.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has consistently said Hamas must be disarmed before the Gaza war can end. Hamas has long regarded that as tantamount to surrender and views armed struggle as a legitimate form of resistance against Israeli control over Palestinian lands.A “long road is ahead of us,” said Mr. Mansour, the analyst. “The remaining issues are not easy ones.”Natan Odenheimer contributed reporting to this story.Oct. 9, 2025, 9:09 a.m. ETA still image from television footage showing the aftermath of an Israeli strike in Doha, Qatar, on Sept. 9.Credit...Jacqueline Penney/AFPTV, via Getty ImagesOn Sept. 9, Israeli jets over the Red Sea launched a volley of missiles that arced high into the atmosphere and came down on a residential neighborhood in Doha, Qatar, where Hamas representatives were discussing the possibility of a plan to end the war in Gaza.The strike was a stunning provocation by Israel: negotiation by bombing the negotiators. Even more than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s other aggressive acts in the Middle East over the past year, this one so rankled government officials both in the region and in Washington that it threatened to blow up the prospects for a cease-fire.But 20 days later, Mr. Netanyahu and President Trump stood together at the White House, declaring support for a plan that could end the nearly two-year-old war. Mr. Trump, with typical hyperbole, labeled it “a big, big day, a beautiful day, potentially one of the great days ever in civilization.” Mr. Netanyahu, more cautious, said the proposal “achieves our war aims.”The brazen Israeli attack failed to kill its targets. But it motivated an angry Mr. Trump and his advisers to pressure Mr. Netanyahu into supporting a framework for ending the war, which Israel and Hamas have now agreed to. That came after months in which the president appeared to have given the Israeli leader a free pass to continue assaulting Hamas even as the death toll and suffering among Palestinian civilians rose to levels that left Israel increasingly isolated.Oct. 9, 2025, 8:03 a.m. ETThe U.N. agency that helps oversee international aid in Gaza welcomed the cease-fire as long overdue and said in a statement that it had assistance, including shelter, food and medicine, en route to the territory. Gaza has been gripped by a hunger crisis for much of the war, and it was unclear when more aid would reach people there.Oct. 9, 2025, 7:29 a.m. ETAmeera HaroudaMahmoud Mardawi, a Hamas official, suggested that Israel and the militant group were wrangling over the names of Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of the deal. “It appears that Netanyahu is striving to blow up the cease-fire agreement before its implementation by back tracking on the lists of prisoners,” he said in a post on X.Though a deal was announced early Thursday, the list of Palestinian prisoners to be released has not been finalized, according to two officials from Arab mediating countries who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details.Oct. 9, 2025, 7:14 a.m. ETSaher AlghorraVisual journalist in GazaI saw dozens of Gazans celebrate near Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis after the announcement of the deal. One man chanted prayers. Another sprayed party foam. Children marched in the streets flashing the victory sign.VideoCreditCredit...Saher Alghorra for The New York TimesOct. 9, 2025, 6:41 a.m. ETCrowds swelled on the Tel Aviv plaza known as Hostages Square as news of the deal spread. Israelis waved national flags printed with yellow ribbons for those still in captivity, along with American flags, while singing and dancing. A man unscrewed a bottle of arak, a traditional anise-flavored alcohol, poured glasses all around and a group raised a toast.Credit...David Guttenfelder/The New York TimesOct. 9, 2025, 6:58 a.m. ETJohnatan ReissReporting from Tel AvivJust after noon, hundreds of Israelis gathered in the square to sing and celebrate. “God, blessed he, always loves me, and things will always be only good for me,” a group sang. The song was made popular during previous releases of hostages, from January to March. Nearly seven months after that cease-fire agreement collapsed, the mood in the plaza was cheerful again on Thursday. “I think it’s relief — that it’s finally OK to feel something that isn’t grief. Joy,” said Hila Ramati-Harel, 29.VideoCreditCredit...David Guttenfelder/The New York TimesOct. 9, 2025, 6:25 a.m. ETFootage on Egyptian state television showed Hamas officials, including their top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, in a room with Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, after part of President Trump’s plan was agreed upon.Al-Hayya was part of the Hamas delegation that was targeted by an Israeli strike in the Qatari capital on Sept. 9.VideoCreditCredit...Al-Qahera News, via Associated PressOct. 9, 2025, 5:30 a.m. ETThe United Nations’ emergency aid chief, Tom Fletcher, called for immediate access for 170,000 tons of food, medicine, shelter and other supplies that aid agencies have poised for delivery to Gaza. The World Health Organization reported this week that 400 Gazans had died of malnutrition since the start of the year, a quarter of them children. A study published by the Lancet medical journal on Wednesday estimated that 55,000 Gazan children under 6 are acutely malnourished.“Let’s get the hostages out and surge aid in — fast,” Fletcher said. “For our plan to succeed, we need: open crossings; safe movement for civilians and aid workers; unrestricted entry of goods; visas for staff; the space for humanitarians to operate; and the private sector to be revived.”Oct. 9, 2025, 5:18 a.m. ETCelebrations on Thursday at a plaza in Tel Aviv that has become known as Hostages Square.Credit...David Guttenfelder/The New York TimesA sense of elation swept across Israel on Thursday as many awoke to the news that a deal meant to end two years of war had been reached overnight.Some people had not even gone to sleep, glued to bulletins about the deal’s progress on their TVs and phones.“What could feel better than the thought that all the hostages will return,” said Oz Isuk, 51, a Jerusalem resident who works in security. “Thank God, we’ll end this saga, the war will end, we can finish a bad chapter in our lives and begin to rehabilitate ourselves as a nation.”At around 3 a.m., shortly after a deal was announced, former hostages who had been released during a brief cease-fire earlier this year rushed to the central plaza in Tel Aviv that has become known as Hostages Square. They came together to celebrate after an agonizing, monthslong wait for the release of the captives still held in Gaza who were seized during the Hamas-led attack in October 2023 that ignited the war.Later in the morning, with much of Israel off work for the Jewish festival of Sukkot, people danced in circles in Hostages Square. Along a main Tel Aviv thoroughfare, billboards had appeared that read, “Thank you President Trump.”In Jerusalem, former hostages joined crowds of worshipers for prayers at the Western Wall.The family of Alon Ohel, a hostage, said on Thursday, “We received the news of the agreement that has been reached with tears of joy.” Mr. Ohel was captured at a roadside bomb shelter after fleeing the Nova music festival, where more than 380 people were killed.“Our family is wrapped in the embrace of all the people of Israel, and we embrace the people of Israel in return,” the family said in a statement.Children in Hostages Square on Thursday looking at a poster of those still held captive inside Gaza.Credit...David Guttenfelder/The New York TimesThe family thanked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, President Trump and the Israeli soldiers “who fought for our Aloni.” The statement added that the family had not yet received any official notification about when their son might be released.Despite the general sense of exhilaration, some Israelis expressed frustration that it had taken their government so long to reach this point.“There should be no doubt, this deal came about solely because of President Trump,” Yehuda Cohen, father of Nimrod Cohen, a 21-year-old soldier held in Gaza, told an Israeli TV channel on Thursday.He said the family felt “betrayed” by the government, adding, “We need to enter into a long period of rehabilitation, not only for Nimrod, but for the country.”Mr. Netanyahu’s right-wing government and the two-year war have polarized Israel. Critics say that policy and intelligence failures led to the country’s being surprised by the October 2023 attack.Like Mr. Cohen, many Israelis say they believe that Mr. Netanyahu prolonged the war to stave off a public reckoning and to appease his far-right political partners who wanted Israel to keep fighting and establish permanent rule in Gaza.News of the deal prompted questions about the stability of the government as Israel entered an election year, with the next national vote scheduled for October 2026 at the latest.For months, hard-line members of the coalition, including the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, have threatened to resign and bring down the government if Mr. Netanyahu ended the war without having fully destroyed Hamas.Mr. Netanyahu relies on the support of far-right parties to remain in power.The deal was set to be voted on by the Israeli government on Thursday evening and, despite opposition from far-right members, was expected to pass.In a long post on Thursday, Mr. Smotrich wrote that he could not join in the “shortsighted celebrations” and vote for the deal.He said that he feared the consequences of Israel’s agreeing to exchange the hostages for scores of Palestinian prisoners, whom he described as “the next generation of terror leadership.”But Mr. Smotrich also took credit for demanding that all the hostages be released at once and for pressuring the government to apply “the military pressure that forced Hamas to fold.” He also stopped short of threatening to quit the government at this stage.The details of how the deal might play out, beyond the first phase of a hostage and prisoner exchange, remain unclear. Centrist and left-leaning opposition parties have offered their support for the deal but thanked Mr. Trump for achieving it, rather than Mr. Netanyahu.“A grateful nation thanks President Trump for the return of the hostages, for the peace he has brought to the region,” Yair Lapid, the centrist leader of the opposition, said in a statement.In Hostages Square, the hundreds who had gathered Thursday under a light rain — considered a blessing after a long, dry summer — were intent on celebrating.The square has served as a site for outpourings of joy when hostages were released and for protests and grief when hostages were found dead or past negotiations collapsed.“I’ve been to this place so many times, cried,” said Larry Rapoport, 78, who returned there on Thursday. “Today, those are tears of happiness.”Johnatan Reiss contributed reporting from Tel Aviv.Oct. 9, 2025, 4:59 a.m. ETCelebrating in Khan Younis, Gaza, on Thursday. The situation in the enclave remains bleak — food, water and medicine are still scarce — but there were reasons for hope.Credit...Saher Alghorra for The New York TimesPalestinians in Gaza welcomed the announcement of a deal between Hamas and Israel overnight, but many have questions about what it will mean for them, for their loved ones and for their devastated communities.The situation had not changed in any material way on Thursday — food, water and medicine remained scarce and their cityscapes are ruined — but there were reasons for hope.“We still don’t understand anything,” said Awni Sami Abu Hasera, 36. He has been living in a shabby tent in Deir al Balah, central Gaza, since fleeing Gaza City, where an Israeli ground offensive destroyed his home and once thriving seafood business last month.“We’re still waking up,” he said. “I don’t see a cease-fire yet.”In interviews with Palestinians across Gaza, many said that the deal had stirred a mixture of relief, joy, disbelief and fear. They said that they were desperate for the war to end after the Israeli offensive against Hamas had destroyed much of the territory and killed tens of thousands.But many added that they were wary of believing any announcement, saying that they had experienced false hopes and disappointment before.It was also hard to fathom what the deal might mean for their families. For Mr. Abu Hasera, even if the fighting were to stop, staying in the ruined enclave did not seem like an option, he said.“As soon as the borders open, I will take my family and leave, anywhere, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “I can’t describe to you what life in a tent and life in displacement really mean.”In Khan Younis on Thursday. In interviews with Palestinians across Gaza, many said that they were desperate for the war to end but were also cautious about what happens next.Credit...Saher Alghorra for The New York TimesElsewhere in Gaza, others were also skeptical after two years of war.Maher al-Alami, 53, was listening to the news on the radio with his daughter, Mais al-Reem, 3, when he spoke to The Times. His family has lost everything in the war, he said, and he was unsure what the deal could do for them now.Mr. al-Alami made a comfortable living in real estate and had an apartment in Gaza City, but his neighborhood has been reduced to rubble, he said. His family fled Israeli military strikes 10 times and now lives in a tent in Az Zawayda.“We’re here in a tent, and we’ll go back to Gaza City in a tent, too,” Mr. al-Alami said. “Same thing, same suffering. What have we gained from this war? Nothing but loss.”Doaa Hamdouna, 39, said she had heard people in Az Zawayda celebrating the deal but could not bring herself to join them.“I still don’t trust it,” said Ms. Hamdouna, a math teacher from Gaza City who fled Israeli military action five times during the war. “I’m mixed between wanting to believe it will last and fearing or worrying that it won’t, that we’ll never really stand in our neighborhoods in Gaza City again.”Siham Abu Shawish, 33, a nursing student from Nuseirat, said she felt “a bit of relief, but not hope.”“We’ve seen this before — news comes out, but nothing changes on the ground,” she noted. “We just want to retrieve what is left of our lives.”Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, head of the pediatric ward at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, said that no new patients had arrived on Thursday morning as a result of Israeli attacks. But no matter what happens, he said, he expected Gaza’s severely strained hospitals to remain overwhelmed.Dr. al-Farra said that the experience of earlier cease-fires in Gaza, which all eventually gave way to renewed fighting, had left him wary.“We hope this is true and that the war has really stopped,” he said.In Deir al Balah, Mohammed Fares, 25, had similar concerns. He said he was feeling a mix of both joy and fear. The deal seemed too good to be real, he added.“I’m so happy and I’m thinking about returning to Gaza City, but I also worry that there will be another installment of the war,” said Mr. Fares, who fled the city for the relative safety of Deir al Balah earlier in the war.But, like Mr. Abu Hasera, he said he thought that the future would contain no shortage of Palestinian suffering with “so many things totally ruined and destroyed.”“It will take decades to make Gaza a humane place to live,” Mr. Fares said.But some were more optimistic.Mohammad al-Atrash, 36, said that he felt relief and gratitude “to all the countries that helped end the war,” even though it was not clear if the agreement reached overnight in Egypt would bring the conflict to a firm end.Mr. al-Atrash said that he had nearly been killed twice in the war, which had destroyed normal life in Gaza for him and his family. His children had been out of school for two years, he said.If the war were to end, he said, it “will ease much suffering.”“God willing,” he added, “this announcement means it won’t return.”Adam Rasgon contributed reporting.Oct. 9, 2025, 4:49 a.m. ETRelatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza celebrating after the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan, in Tel Aviv, on Thursday.Credit...Emilio Morenatti/Associated PressLeaders around the world welcomed the agreement between Israel and Hamas to exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.In statements, many described the deal as offering a rare moment of hope after two years of a war that has exacted a devastating toll. Here is a sampling of reactions:Britain: Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the deal as “a moment of profound relief,” that would be felt “all around the world.” Britain, he said in a statement, would back the next phase of talks aimed at securing lasting peace and restoring the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.France: President Emmanuel Macron said the agreement was a “great hope for the hostages and their families, for the Palestinians in Gaza, and for the entire region.” He said in a statement that the agreement “must mark the end of the war and the beginning of a political solution based on the two-state solution.”Turkey: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose country helped broker the deal, said he was pleased with it and praised President Trump’s contribution. He said Turkey would monitor the “word by word implementation of the deal.”Egypt: President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, whose country was hosting the negotiations, said, “The world is witnessing a historic moment that embodies the triumph of the will for peace over the logic of war.”Jordan: Ayman Safadi, the country’s foreign minister, posted on social media to celebrate the deal and called for “an irreversible path to a just peace” with a Palestinian state. He said Jordan was “ready to resume aid delivery” as soon as Israel facilitates it.Palestinian Authority: Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, welcomed the agreement, saying in a statement that “we hope this effort will lead to a lasting political solution that ends the Israeli occupation and establishes an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”Saudi Arabia: A statement from the country’s foreign ministry celebrated the deal and praised the “active role” played by Mr. Trump. It, too, called for an eventual two-state solution using the 1967 borders.United Nations: Secretary General António Guterres said the organization fully supported the agreement and would help implement its humanitarian components. He added that “all hostages must be released in a dignified manner” and that “a permanent cease-fire must be secured.”European Union: Ursula von der Leyen, who leads the executive arm of the E.U., said in a statement that she welcomed the deal. “Now, all parties must fully uphold the terms of the agreement,” she said, adding: “Today’s opportunity should be seized.”Rawan Sheikh Ahmad, Safak Timur and Jeanna Smialek contributed reporting.Oct. 9, 2025, 4:49 a.m. ETA live feed camera in southern Israel this morning captured the sound of a drone buzzing overhead, distant explosions, and plumes of smoke rising from Gaza, indicating continuing Israeli military activity in the territory.VideoCreditCredit...ReutersOct. 9, 2025, 3:43 a.m. ETThe route used by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to flee the most intense areas of the war, on Monday.Credit...Saher Alghorra for The New York TimesIsrael and Hamas have agreed to an exchange of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners, President Trump announced on Wednesday. But as people across the Middle East woke up to news of the agreement on Thursday, many of the details were still unclear.Mr. Trump said on social media that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a 20-point peace plan that he presented at the end of September. The announcement was made following indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas mediated by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the United States.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said he would convene his cabinet on Thursday to sign off on the agreement. Hamas said the deal would lead to the end of the war and Israel’s withdrawal from the territory, and indicated that it would allow for more aid to enter Gaza.Mr. Netanyahu was expected to convene senior ministers at 5 p.m. local time before putting the proposal to a cabinet vote roughly an hour later, according to two Israeli officials who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.Some of the most sensitive questions — such as whether Hamas would lay down its arms and who would run the Palestinian enclave after the war — still need to be worked out.Nonetheless, many Palestinians and Israelis nonetheless celebrated the announcement that an accord had been reached, hoping it would finally end the conflict.Here’s what we know:The agreement covers an exchange of hostages and prisoners.Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on the basis of the first phase of Mr. Trump’s peace plan, which the Trump administration publicly released in late September.The plan says hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners are expected to be exchanged about three days after Israel formally ratifies the cease-fire. The roughly 20 living hostages are likely to be released on Sunday or Monday, according to an Israeli official, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive matters.Israeli forces would also withdraw to an agreed-upon line, although the precise location has yet to be made public. Mr. Trump’s proposal contained maps showing Israeli withdrawal lines, but those appear to have been amended during the course of the negotiations, according to two Israeli officials and an Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic matters.When Hamas launched the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that started the war, about 1,200 people were killed and roughly 250, mostly civilians, were taken hostage. Israel’s devastating military response has since killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, including civilians and combatants, according to the Gaza health ministry. The war has also reduced much of the territory to ruins.Under Mr. Trump’s plan, about 20 living Israeli hostages would be exchanged for 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israel and 1,700 Gazans detained during the war. The bodies of 15 Gazans would be returned for the remains of each Israeli.Officials and analysts say that turning over the bodies of the roughly 25 hostages who were killed would likely be more complicated and take longer.VideoIsrael and Hamas Reach a DealCelebrations broke out after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a peace plan on Wednesday. The agreement covers an exchange of hostages and prisoners.CreditCredit...Moti Milrod/ReutersThe deal is expected to allow more aid into Gaza.Mr. Trump’s proposal called for an influx of humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been gripped by a hunger crisis for much of the war. Aid groups have blamed Israeli restrictions on food and other goods entering the enclave for the shortages, which led international monitors to declare a famine in parts of northern Gaza this summer. Israel has denied the characterization.Hamas and Qatar indicated in their initial statements about the agreement that it would allow for more aid to flow. But the details were unclear.An earlier, short-lived cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in January stipulated that hundreds of trucks ferrying supplies would enter the enclave each day.It’s unclear whether Hamas will disarm.For Mr. Trump’s full peace plan to work, diplomats and negotiators will probably need to resolve a crucial question: Will Hamas agree to give up its weapons?Mr. Netanyahu has long insisted that he would not accept an agreement in which Hamas refuses to disarm. The Palestinian militant group has publicly rejected his demands that it do so.Mr. Trump did not mention that issue in his social media post or in a television interview afterward, and there were no immediate public comments about it from Israel or Hamas.Some Arab mediators negotiating an end to the war in Gaza believe that they can persuade Hamas to partially disarm, The New York Times reported this week.Natan Odenheimerand Adam Rasgoncontributed reporting.Oct. 9, 2025, 2:34 a.m. ETMahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, welcomed the agreement, saying in a statement that “we hope this effort will lead to a lasting political solution that ends the Israeli occupation and establishes an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.” He praised “the great efforts made by President Trump and all mediators to reach this agreement,” adding that the Palestianian Authority was ready to work with all partners to ensure the agreement’s success.Oct. 9, 2025, 2:16 a.m. ETThe Israeli military has begun preparing to implement the agreement and “transition to adjusted deployment lines soon,” it said on social media.Credit...Ariel Schalit/Associated PressOct. 9, 2025, 1:21 a.m. ETEgypt’s state-run Al Qahera News broadcast footage showing an aid convoy entering Gaza from Egypt, coinciding with the announcement of the agreement between Israel and Hamas. The channel said the convoy’s entry was a continuation of Egyptian efforts to deliver relief supplies to the enclave.Oct. 9, 2025, 12:38 a.m. ETIt’s about 8 a.m. in Israel and Gaza, where news of the agreement broke at about 2 a.m. Some people are just waking up to this, and waiting to find out when a truce might come into effect.Credit...Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesCredit...Ronen Zvulun/ReutersOct. 9, 2025, 12:38 a.m. ETThree hours after President Trump announced the agreement, the Israeli military reminded residents of the Gaza Strip in a statement in Arabic that Israeli troops continued to occupy the territory and that they were still fighting a war.Oct. 8, 2025, 11:51 p.m. ETA girl bringing bread to her family in Nuseirat, Gaza, on Tuesday.Credit...Saher Alghorra for The New York TimesAs the Gaza war was entering its third year on Wednesday evening, President Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of the sweeping peace proposal he unveiled late last month.The agreement came after several days of negotiations in Egypt. Mediating countries, including Qatar, Egypt and the United States, had been pressuring Israel and Hamas, which do not negotiate directly. The deal seemed to develop suddenly, after months of false starts on a cease-fire as Gaza’s humanitarian crisis grew increasingly dire.A development in early September had drastically altered the dynamic among the parties involved in the negotiations. On Sept. 9, Israel bombed a residential neighborhood in Doha, Qatar, where Hamas representatives were discussing the possibility of a plan to end the war.Though the strike did not kill the Hamas negotiators, it was a provocation that angered officials in the Middle East and in Washington. Initially, it seemed to ruin any prospect for a cease-fire. Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, accused the Israeli government of trying “to sabotage every attempt to create opportunities for peace.”Qatar is an American ally that hosts a United States military base, and the Israeli strike put Mr. Trump in a difficult position. “Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” he wrote on social media.But ultimately, the anger that Mr. Trump and his advisers felt about the strike, which left them in an awkward position with other allies in the Middle East, motivated them to pressure Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, into supporting a framework for ending the war.On Sept. 23 at the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Trump and Steve Witkoff, the president’s Middle East envoy, convened a meeting with senior officials from Arab and Muslim-majority countries at which they outlined the contours of a plan to end the war. That gathering took place a day after a U.N. conference at which France, Britain, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium and other nations recognized Palestinian statehood, part of an international effort to advance a resolution to the longstanding conflict.Israel had become increasingly isolated on the world stage, and Mr. Netanyahu could not afford to defy his staunchest ally, Mr. Trump.At the White House on Sept. 29, with Mr. Netanyahu at his side, the president unveiled his 20-point plan for ending the war, releasing the remaining hostages and governing a postwar Gaza. During that visit, Mr. Netanyahu called the Qatari prime minister to apologize for the Israeli strike as Mr. Trump looked on.Then, Mr. Trump began to pressure Hamas. On Friday, he warned the group that many more of its fighters would be killed if it did not agree to a deal by Sunday evening.Hamas responded the same day, saying that it would agree to release all of the hostages held in Gaza, living and dead, but that it wanted to negotiate elements of the plan. That evening, Mr. Trump said he believed Hamas was “ready for a lasting peace” and called on Israel to stop bombing Gaza.Mr. Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel would cooperate with the White House to end the war.By Monday, mediators and negotiators were meeting in Egypt to hash out the plan’s initial phase: the exchange of Palestinian prisoners in Israel for hostages, and an Israeli pullback from parts of Gaza. “Everyone wants it to happen,” Mr. Trump said at the White House. “Even Hamas.”Announcements soon followed about high-profile negotiators joining the talks in Egypt, including Mr. Witkoff; Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and former Middle East adviser; and the Qatari prime minister.In an interview with the Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday night, after the deal was announced, Mr. Trump seemed to be in a celebratory mood, but he said little about the agreement’s many potential sticking points. “The whole world came together around this deal,” he said.Oct. 8, 2025, 11:17 p.m. ETSean Hannity greets President Trump last year at the Fox Nation Patriot Awards in Greenvale, N.Y. Credit...Dave Sanders for The New York TimesHours after announcing a breakthrough agreement between Israel and Hamas, President Trump hailed the deal as a “historic” victory that would bring peace to the Middle East but spent little time discussing the details in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News.After months of deadlock, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement for the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners on Wednesday. Mr. Trump, who helped broker the deal, said in the interview that the hostages would be released “probably Monday.”He portrayed the agreement as not just peace in Gaza but “peace in the Middle East,” and said that he assured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel over the phone that the world was “loving Israel again.”“Israel cannot fight the world, Bibi,” he recounted telling Mr. Netanyahu on Wednesday.Mr. Trump said that the United States would help Gaza rebuild and would form a “council of peace” that would be “very powerful,” but did not provide any detail about how it would work.He also did not say whether Hamas would disarm or if and when Palestinian prisoners would be released, nor did he go into detail about how Gaza would be governed — all of which have been sticking points of cease-fire talks.Instead, Mr. Trump spent most of the interview discussing the benefits of his tariffs and his campaign to deploy National Guard troops in Democrat-run cities.He claimed he was able to bring “peace to the world” by threatening tariffs on other countries. He added that lawsuits against his tariffs — filed by state officials, small businesses and political groups that contend he does not have the authority to impose tariffs on foreign goods without congressional approval — were brought by “enemies of the country.”“We’re not going to deal with people that fight,” he said on Fox News. “We’re going to put tariffs on you.”The Israel-Hamas deal came after Mr. Trump intensified pressure on both sides to stop the war in Gaza, unveiling a sweeping 20-point plan for a cease-fire in late September. Under that proposal, the living hostages held in Gaza and remains of deceased hostages would be exchanged for 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 Gazans jailed by Israel during the war.“The whole world came together around this deal,” Mr. Trump said.Oct. 8, 2025, 9:00 p.m. ETPresident Trump greeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel at the White House last month.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York TimesPresident Trump said on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the initial phases of a 20-point peace plan aimed at ending their war in Gaza and bringing home hostages held in the enclave in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.Mr. Trump presented the sweeping plan during a meeting late last month at the White House with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.The proposal called for an immediate end to the war and the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza, living and dead, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners; a pullback of Israeli troops in Gaza; and an influx of aid into the enclave, which is in the grips of a severe humanitarian crisis.But there are elements of the plan, and of Mr. Trump’s long-term vision for the enclave, that Hamas has resisted in the past, and which may yet prove to be sticking points.The proposal calls for Hamas to disarm and to have no role in the governance of Gaza. These are conditions that Israel has long demanded and that Hamas has steadfastly rejected.Under the plan, Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007, would be replaced by a “technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee” overseen by a supervisory “Board of Peace,” with Mr. Trump as chairman and a leadership role for Tony Blair, the former British prime minister.According to the White House proposal, “Gaza will be a de-radicalized terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbors” and “will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza.”The board would set a framework for the redevelopment of Gaza, including funding reconstruction for a period of time while the Palestinian Authority undergoes a “reform program” so that it can “securely and effectively take back control of Gaza.” The authority, which administers part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has been accused of corruption.The board is supposed to “create modern and efficient governance that serves the people of Gaza and is conducive to attracting investment.” A special economic zone is to be established, with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries.Under the peace proposal, no one will be forced to leave Gaza. Those who wish to leave will be free to do so, and free to return. “We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza,” the proposal says.Mr. Trump had previously suggested that Gazans could be relocated to other nations, perhaps neighboring states, a notion that drew widespread condemnation and that he has since abandoned.Under the proposal, regional partners in the Middle East will ensure that Hamas complies with its obligations, and the United States will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary “International Stabilization Force” to immediately deploy in Gaza.The stabilization force “will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza, and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field,” according to the plan. That force is to work with Israel and Egypt to help secure border areas, along with newly trained Palestinian police forces.Critically, the proposal states that Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza and “will withdraw based on standards, milestones and time frames linked to demilitarization that will be agreed upon.” Far-right members of Israel’s government have called for annexation of the enclave.The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians with the goal of agreeing on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence, according to the plan.The proposal does not, however, guarantee the establishment of a Palestinian state. It says only that as Gaza redevelopment advances and the Palestinian Authority reform program is carried out, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.”Oct. 8, 2025, 8:14 p.m. ETMourners attend a dawn memorial service marking the two-year anniversary of the Hamas cross-border attack on Israel, in Kfar Aza, southern Israel.Credit...David Guttenfelder/The New York TimesPresident Trump has made the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas a central part of his push for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.In the assault on Israel two years ago that started the war, Hamas and other militants took about 250 people captive and brought them back to Gaza, though in a few cases the hostages had already been killed and their bodies were taken back.Here is what to know about those who remain:How many hostages are in Gaza?Israel says that there are still about 20 living hostages in Gaza, along with the bodies of around 25 others.Mr. Trump’s cease-fire proposal last month called for the release of all hostages, both living and dead, within 72 hours of Israel accepting the plan. But Israel agreed nine days ago, so the timing now is unclear.Videos released by Hamas have shown captives looking emaciated and frail, shocking many Israelis and raising questions about how much longer they can survive.Hamas officials said last month that returning the bodies of dead captives would mean retrieving them from where they were buried, which would take time.What happened to the other hostages?Many of the people kidnapped on Oct. 7 have been freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails during two cease-fires, one in the early months of the war and a second earlier this year. At least eight other hostages were freed in Israeli military operations.More than three dozen hostages have been killed in captivity, according to an investigation by The New York Times.Seven hostages were executed by their captors as Israeli soldiers drew near, and four others died in Israeli airstrikes, according to Israeli officials and the public findings of military investigations.Three hostages were killed by Israeli soldiers who mistook them for Palestinian militants, the Israeli military has said; one was shot and killed in a crossfire. The circumstances surrounding the deaths of the others remain unclear.What does Hamas get in return?Under the Trump plan, once the hostages are freed, Israel would “release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after Oct. 7, 2023.”“For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans,” the plan says.The timing of the Israeli prisoner releases is unclear.