What we know about the new Gaza deal

Palestinian children celebrate in Khan Yunis on October 9, 2025, following news of a new Gaza ceasefire deal. [AFP] Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed on a ceasefire deal to free hostages held in Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Here is what we know so far about the agreement, reached in indirect talks in Egypt: Hostage, prisoner releases Israel said the final draft of the first phase of a ceasefire and hostage-release deal had been signed by all parties. Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said the ceasefire would take effect "within 24 hours" of a meeting of Israel's security cabinet scheduled for Thursday at 1400 GMT, at which the plan is expected to be approved. "All of our hostages, the living and the deceased, will be released 72 hours later, which will bring us to Monday," she said. Of the 251 people abducted during Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack, which sparked the war in Gaza, militants still hold 47, including 25, the Israeli military says, are dead. In exchange, Israel will release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners: 250 of whom are serving life sentences, and 1,700 others detained since the start of the war, a top Hamas official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. There has been no indication that Israel will disclose the names of those set for release. Prisoner lists A key point in the negotiations was a list of Palestinian prisoners submitted by Hamas, whom it wants released from Israeli jails in the truce's first phase. High-profile inmate Marwan Barghouti -- from Hamas's rival, the Fatah movement -- is among those the group wanted to see released, according to Egyptian state-linked media. But Israel said Barghouti would not be part of the exchange. Barghouti, who was sentenced to life in 2004 on murder charges and is considered a terrorist by Israel, often tops opinion polls of popular Palestinian leaders and is sometimes described by supporters as the "Palestinian Mandela". Aid A daily minimum of 400 trucks of aid will enter the Gaza Strip for the first five days of the ceasefire, to be increased in following days, the Hamas source said. The Egyptian Red Crescent said an initial 153 trucks were headed into Gaza via the Rafah border crossing. The World Health Organization chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said his agency was prepared to "scale up its work to meet the dire health needs of patients across Gaza, and to support rehabilitation of the destroyed health system". The UN agency for Palestinian refugees welcomed the deal as a "huge relief", and said it was ready to flood Gaza with desperately needed food. The deal also provides for the "return of displaced persons from the south of the Gaza Strip to Gaza (City) and the north immediately", the Hamas source said. Scheduled withdrawals Israel said its military would redeploy to an agreed-upon "yellow line" within 24 hours. The deal stipulates "scheduled withdrawals" of Israeli troops, the Hamas official said, and includes "guarantees from President Trump and the mediators". Key questions remain Trump's 20-point peace plan, on which the indirect negotiations were based, calls for the disarmament of Hamas and for post-war Gaza to be ruled by a transitional authority headed by Trump himself. But these points are yet to be addressed. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said he hoped the Gaza deal could lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. But Netanyahu and members of his cabinet have repeatedly vowed to prevent that from happening. What next? Israel's security cabinet will meet on Thursday at 1400 GMT, Bedrosian said. Its approval of the plan will start the 24-hour ceasefire countdown, followed by the 72-hour hostage and prisoner release window. The security cabinet meeting will be followed by a full government meeting an hour later. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would not vote in favour of the deal. A Hamas official said negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire would begin "immediately". Negotiations in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh have been taking place under lock and key in a conference centre. Al-Qahera News, linked to Egypt's state intelligence, broadcast footage showing negotiators from Hamas, Turkey, Qatar, Egypt and the United States embracing and walking in high spirits. But Hamas and Israeli delegates were positioned in two different rooms, with mediators shuttling between them, and no indication the foes would ever meet.

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