Sources with knowledge of the negotiations have told CBS News that the ceasefire in Gaza is set to take effect following a formal vote of approval on the agreement by the Israeli government Thursday afternoon local time, around 11 a.m. Eastern.
Once the ceasefire takes effect, within 24 hours, the Israel Defense Forces would complete the first phase of its partial withdrawal to a predetermined “yellow” line. An official told CBS News that this pullback would include IDF troops leaving Gaza City, the Palestinian enclave’s biggest population center and the focus of a recent Israeli ground offensive.
While the final boundaries for the withdrawal have not been confirmed, Mr. Trump shared a map on Oct. 4 showing what he said would be the new Israeli military line, roughly bisecting Gaza from north to south, but with Israeli forces still surrounding the strip on all sides within the enclave’s borders.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is expected to convene his security cabinet later Thursday, around 9 a.m. Eastern, and then his full government about two hours later for the formal approval vote.
According to an Israeli official, the 72-hour countdown for Hamas to release the remaining hostages will begin once the IDF completes its initial withdrawal.
The release of the 20 living hostages is expected Sunday or Monday. The timing of the corresponding release of Palestinian prisoners by Israeli authorities remained unclear.
For 734 days, the war between Israel and Hamas has meant an endless stream of loss and suffering, displacement and war for the people of Gaza. But overnight, there was relief and joy.
“President Trump has announced the war has ended,” said Wael Radwan. “We are so happy, we are overjoyed.”
More than anything, Palestinians want the bombs to stop falling.
“Thank God for this ceasefire, for the end to the bloodshed,” said Abdelmajid Abedrabbo. “It’s not just me … the whole of Gaza will be celebrating.”
It was the middle of the night in Israel when the news broke about the agreement on a peace deal, 734 days after the war in Gaza was sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
Spontaneous celebrations erupted in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square. For so long it had been a place filled with rage and pain as families tirelessly campaigned for their loved ones to come home. But it is also where they kept their hopes alive.
An even bigger crowd showed up Thursday morning, jubilantly waving both Israeli and U.S. flags, and many people were keen to voice their appreciation to President Trump for brokering the ceasefire deal.
One woman with the American stars and stripes held aloft said she was carrying the flag “to thank President Trump, who forced the Hamas and Israeli government to sign for ending that war and bringing [home] all our kidnapped … I would like to thank him from my heart.”
As others danced and sang around them, another woman holding both Israeli and U.S. flags told CBS News that if it wasn’t for the Mr. Trump’s intervention, “it would never have happened. Only because Trump is brave enough to face the whole bloody world – the evil of the world, he faced all of them, he doesn’t care.”
She said she believed Mr. Trump’s role was vital, “because Bibi [Netanyahu] is a little bit afraid of everything. So, by having Trump next to him, together, they’ll fix the world, and nothing will stop them from bringing our people home … because of Trump, the whole world listened.”
By CBS News’ Debora Patta and Haley Ott
“This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America,” President Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform Wednesday night, announcing the agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Two regional sources told CBS News there was an agreement on all sides in principle on a hostage release, but that procedural issues remained. Once those details are handled, it will be 48 hours before any release starts, the sources said.
Mr. Trump, in an interview Wednesday night with Fox News host Sean Hannity, said hostages would “probably” be released on Monday, U.S. time, and that the exchange would include the release of the bodies of deceased hostages still held by Hamas.
Mr. Trump told Hannity that other parts of the 20-point Israel-Hamas peace plan he laid out last week — including a committee to oversee governance in Gaza — could be forthcoming, without giving a timeline.
“I think you’re going to see people getting along, and you’ll see Gaza being rebuilt,” the president said. “People are going to be taken care of. It’s going to be a different world.”
Majed al-Ansari, an adviser to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, also confirmed the deal on Wednesday, writing on X that an agreement was reached on “the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid.”
