SKIP ADVERTISEMENTLiveUpdated Oct. 9, 2025, 12:39 a.m. ETSeveral details remained unclear, but officials indicated that the deal would involve a pullback of Israeli troops, the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages as early as Sunday.ImagePhotographs of Oct. 7 victims in Kfar Aza, a kibbutz that is less than two miles from Gaza, on Tuesday.Credit...David Guttenfelder/The New York Times PinnedUpdated Oct. 9, 2025, 12:35 a.m. ETIsrael and Hamas have reached an agreement for the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, a breakthrough after months of negotiations to end the devastating two-year war in Gaza.President Trump, who helped to broker the deal, said on social media Wednesday that both sides had agreed to the first phase of his peace plan, which requires Israel to pull back its troops to an agreed-upon line. Mr. Trump said that he might travel this weekend to the region, where negotiations on Gaza were underway in Egypt.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said that he would convene his cabinet on Thursday to sign off on the agreement. The Israeli military said that it welcomed the agreement and that it was preparing to lead the operation for the hostages’ return.Hamas said in a statement early Thursday that the agreement would lead to the end of the war in Gaza and Israel’s withdrawal from the territory. 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.But many details of the deal remained unclear early Thursday. Three hours after Mr. Trump announced the deal, the Israeli military reminded residents of the Gaza Strip in a statement that Israeli troops continued to occupy the territory and that they were still fighting a war.The war in Gaza started in October 2023 when Hamas led an attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people 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.After months of deadlocked negotiations, Hamas said last week that it was prepared to release all Israeli hostages in Gaza under the terms of the plan that Mr. Trump unveiled last week.The roughly 20 living Israeli hostages in Gaza are expected to be released as soon as this weekend, likely on Sunday, said an official familiar with the details of the agreement who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomacy.But officials didn’t elaborate on the specifics of the hostages-for-prisoner exchange or the line of Israeli withdrawal. And Israel, in its initial statements, did not mention a troop pullback.It was also unclear if the agreement would mean a permanent end to the war. One crucial sticking point is that Hamas has publicly rejected Mr. Netanyahu’s demand that it disarm. No mention was made of the Palestinian militant group’s weapons in statements on the agreement from Israel, Qatar, the United States or Hamas itself.Here’s what else to know:Hope in Gaza: Palestinians in Gaza received the news with hope that it might finally bring their two-year-long nightmare to an end. Montaser Bahja, an English teacher displaced in Khan Younis with his family, said he felt “joy for the end of the war and the killing, and sorrow for everything we’ve lost.” Everyone, he added, was awake and glued to the news, waiting to hear when a truce might come into effect.Peace plan: Mr. Trump’s 20-point peace plan contains elements that Hamas has resisted in the past and may yet prove to be obstacles to ending the war. Read more ›Pressure on Israel: Israel’s Sept. 9 strike targeting Hamas representatives in Qatar rankled government officials both in the region and in Washington. But it also motivated an angry Mr. Trump and his advisers to pressure Mr. Netanyahu into supporting a framework for ending the war. Read more ›Oct. 9, 2025, 12:38 a.m. ETIt’s after 7 a.m. in Israel and Gaza, where some residents have been glued to the news, which broke around 2 a.m., waiting to find out when a truce might come into effect. Others are just waking up to it.Credit...Abdel Kareem Hana/Associated PressOct. 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.Related ContentAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT