Israel Approves Trump's Plan For Gaza Ceasefire & Hostage Release
BBC News
This video can not be played
Israel has approved the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release plan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says in a statement
The ceasefire is due to come into force early on Saturday, 24 hours after the deal was approved
The US is moving up to 200 troops already based in the Middle East to co-ordinate a multinational force that will monitor the ceasefire, US officials say
Trump says Israeli hostages could be released on "Monday or Tuesday"
As well as the ceasefire and hostages, the first phase of an agreement would also see Israel release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners; Israeli troops beginning to withdraw from parts of Gaza; and hundreds of trucks of aid a day entering Gaza
As music blares in the streets of Jerusalem, our correspondent there summarises what happens next
This is a major moment – but it's a ceasefire, not a peace deal, writes Lyse Doucet. The toughest issues are still on the table
Edited by Chris Graham, with reporting from Alice Cuddy in Tel Aviv and Barbara Plett Usher in Jerusalem
Last month, US President Donald Trump released a map showing how Israeli troops would gradually withdraw from Gaza under his peace plan.
While we wait for the IDF to leave, and for the ceasefire to take effect, our colleagues at BBC Verify look at what this could look like and how it could work.
This video can not be played
What could Gaza look like under the ceasefire plan?
Israel's government has approved a ceasefire and hostage release agreement following a cabinet vote in the early morning hours of Friday local time.
The agreement is just the first phase of US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan, and there's still a number of sticking points to work out.
Here's what's expected to happen in this first phase:
1. A ceasefire in Gaza is expected to take effect early on Saturday, 24 hours after the deal was approved by the Israeli government.
2. Israeli troops will withdraw to a line giving it control of 53% of the Gaza Strip, a spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister's office said. This is the first of three withdrawal stages in Trump's plan.
3. The release of Israeli hostages – alive and dead – being held by Hamas will begin, followed by Israel's release of Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli jails as well as detainees from Gaza.
4. The US is moving up to 200 troops already based in the Middle East to Israel to co-ordinate a multinational force which will monitor the ceasefire, according to US officials.
Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem
A ceasefire is due to come into force early on Saturday in Gaza, 24 hours after the deal was approved by the Israeli government.
Once that starts, the hostages should be released within 72 hours. Twenty of them are believed to remain alive. In return, hundreds of Palestinians will be freed from Israeli jails.
Ahead of the vote, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been accused of prolonging the conflict for political purposes, thanked US President Donald Trump for helping negotiate the deal.
Hamas’s exiled Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, said he had received guarantees from the United States and mediators that the war was over.
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has welcomed the latest developments in the Gaza ceasefire deal, which was approved by the Israeli government a few hours ago.
"I very much welcome this breakthrough," he says, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
"We have called for some time for a ceasefire for the release of hostages to be granted… we also need to talk about the day after, which requires a two-state solution."
He also says US President Donald Trump "deserves congratulations for the leadership that the United States has shown". 
Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent
We have some more details now about the multinational force which will monitor the ceasefire.
The US is moving up to 200 troops already based in the Middle East to Israel to coordinate the operation, according to US officials.
The US military will establish what it’s calling a civil-military coordination centre in Israel, involving some 200 troops. Embedded in it will be forces from Arab and Muslim countries including Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey who will observe the truce and report any violations.
US officials say that no American forces will enter Gaza. The taskforce is led by US Central Command based in the region and is intended to oversee the progress of the ceasefire agreement and also help coordinate humanitarian assistance.
Assuming the hostage and prisoner exchange is completed, the officials say the intention is then for a so-called International Stabilisation Force to be built, but this is yet to be agreed between the sides.
Roughly 24 hours have seen major diplomatic progress and widespread jubilation as Hamas and Israel agreed to Trump's plan for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages. But how did it all play out?
A scrawled note and a whisper were the first signs of new developments in resolving the conflict. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered both to Trump at around 23:45pm (BST) on Wednesday. The president told reporters the note had informed him “We are very close to a deal.”
Just before midnight (BST), the announcement that “Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan” came from Trump’s Truth Social. This plan included: a swap of hostages and bodies, a ceasefire in Gaza, for Israeli troops to withdraw from Gaza and aid to be delivered there.
Photos of joy on Gaza’s rubble-strewn streets and in Israel’s Hostages Square soon spread online though many questions remained about the implementation of Trump’s plan, the BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet noted.
On Thursday, Israel’s cabinet met and confirmed it had approved a hostage release plan just before 23:30pm (BST).
It is not clear if fighting has yet ceased though.
Benedict Garman
BBC Verify senior journalist
An Israeli government spokeswoman has suggested its military will withdraw to an area of the Gaza Strip shown on a "widely reported” map if the ceasefire and hostage release deal comes into effect.
While Shosh Bedrosian didn't show the map at a news conference, two versions have been shared by the White House in recent weeks that show an area of Gaza marked with a yellow line indicating initial withdrawal positions for Israeli forces.
Bedrosian said that the first phase of the ceasefire deal would leave the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in control of “about 53%” of Gaza. This proportion broadly matches with our earlier assessment.
Based on BBC Verify analysis of the White House maps the first withdrawal phase would effectively reverse Israeli advances made over the past month in Gaza City. It would retain control over most of the eastern neighbourhood of Shejaiya.
The IDF would also hold on to about a third of the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, a road created by Israel in early 2024 and used to separate the north and south of the territory to control population movement.
In southern Gaza the withdrawal lines appear to follow existing military partitions created earlier this year:
These military corridors already more or less demarcate the current extent of IDF control in southern Gaza, suggesting there would be no significant withdrawal there.
Nada Tawfik
Reporting from New York
The UN’s Humanitarian Chief Tom Fletcher, who is currently in Riyadh, spoke remotely to reporters at the United Nations. He said President Trump’s peace plan must be the basis for live-saving work throughout the region and for saving tens of thousands of lives. “We must seize this moment with collective will, with determination and with generosity,” he said.
Fletcher said humanitarians are currently allowed by Israel to deliver less than 20 percent of what they should be getting into Gaza. He says his reading of the peace agreement is that the UN will now have unimpeded access, meaning the blockade will be lifted and all crossings into the strip will be opened with secure routes to deliver aid.
The task ahead is enormous. The UN has 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine and other supplies in place at the border and ready to go into Gaza to feed 2.1 million people. Not only are they trying to revert famine in areas where it has taken hold and prevent it in others, he said, they also are anxious to restore the decimated health system, water and sanitation, schools and provide thousands of tents every week for shelter.
As part of the agreement on Gaza reached overnight, 48 hostages still in captivity in Gaza will be released, of whom 20 are still believed to be alive.
The deal will also see 1,700 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel. Our Gaza correspondent, Rushi Abualouf explains who they are in the video below.
This video can not be played
Watch: BBC's Gaza correspondent explains how many Palestinian prisoners will be released
Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
I don't think since Henry Kissinger we've seen one person be so intimately involved in America's foreign policy as Steve Witkoff.
For context, Witkoff has no diplomatic background. He's a businessman and a real estate investor that Donald Trump has entrusted with a huge diplomatic portfolio, perhaps a bigger diplomatic portfolio than Marco Rubio, who is the Secretary of State.
Witkoff was charged with these negotiations even before Trump took office. During the transitional period after Trump's election, Witkoff was on the phone with Netanyahu asking about a ceasefire – and he pressured him pretty forcefully.
It shows the trust Trump has in him. Now, he might turn around and get more involved in the Ukraine negotiation.
There are likely to be multiple points of contention during the negotiations over later phases of the deal.
Hamas wants a Palestinian state
Hamas has previously refused to lay down its weapons, saying it would only do so once a Palestinian state has been established.
The group also made no mention of disarming in its initial response to the plan last weekend, fuelling speculation that its position has not changed.
Hamas has also said it expects to have some future role in Gaza as part of "a unified Palestinian movement".
Netanyahu doesn't want the Palestinian Authority involved
And although Israel agreed to the plan in full, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to push back on involvement of the PA in post-war Gaza even as he stood on the podium next to the president last week, insisting it would play no role in governing the territory.
When will Israel fully withdraw?
Israel says its first withdrawal will see it retaining control of around 53% of Gaza. The White House plan indicates further withdrawals to around 40%, then 15%.
That final stage would be a "security perimeter" that would "remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat".
The wording here is vague and gives no clear timeline for full Israeli withdrawal – something Hamas is likely to want clarity on.
"The gravity of the moment can not be underestimated" says Jan Egeland, who currently heads the Norwegian Refugee Council. He also played a role in brokering the Oslo accords – a series of deals in the 1990s that established the Palestinian Authority and were meant to pave the way for lasting peace.
He says his expectation is that, as soon as a ceasefire starts, his organisation can start sending hundreds of trucks of aid into Gaza every single day.
Egeland says he has 65 staff inside Gaza who are ready to start distributions, of "hundreds in truckloads that have been stuck in Egypt for many months".
For Egeland, getting this aid into Gaza is a crucial part of securing peace in the longer term: "Everything is connected to everything".
"If there is no relief it would be nonsensical to believe there would be a political settlement," he says.
He's feeling hopeful: "It's our best chance now for decades" he says, "since the Oslo agreement that I was part of in 1993, we haven't had such an opportunity to not only have a ceasefire that lasts, but also have peace."
The Israeli government approved the ceasefire agreement a few hours ago, but it's not yet clear if the ceasefire has already gone into effect.
In announcing that it had agreed to the deal, the Israeli government did not specify whether the ceasefire had officially started.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar told Fox News earlier today that there would be a ceasefire "immediately after" the Israeli government makes its decision to approve the deal.
But the Palestinian Information Centre has reported in the last hour that military activity in Gaza is continuing, including a launch of smoke bombs in the Al-Nasr neighbourhood of western Gaza and aircraft targeting in Gaza City.
This video can not be played
Watch: How Trump's relationships helped pull off a Gaza deal
In this short video, listen to BBC's North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher explain how key events during Trump's first presidency and his current term influenced the US leader's ability to pressure Israel into a ceasefire deal.
They include Trump's close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Trump's unconventional style of diplomacy and his close business ties with Qatar and UAE also played a part in the Gaza deal.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gave his first interview in years to Israeli media earlier today.
He said he is hopeful about the ceasefire deal and wants lasting peace.
"What happened today is a historic moment. We have been hoping – and continue to hope – that we can bring an end to the bloodshed taking place in our land, whether in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, or East Jerusalem," he told Israel's Channel 12.
"Today, we are very happy that the bloodshed has ceased. We hope it remains this way, and that peace, security, and stability will prevail between us and Israel."
Abbas said the Palestinian Authority has been working with US President Donald Trump to launch some reforms.
"Some have already been completed, and others are ongoing, until the PA becomes a model capable of continuing to lead the Palestinian people," Abbas said.
The Palestinian Authority is preparing for a role in the post-war governance of Gaza, according to reporting from the Reuters news agency.
"We're already there," Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa has told Reuters.
Currently, how the territory will be governed in the future is still unclear.
Under Trump's plan, Gaza will be temporarily governed by a "technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee", before being handed over to the Palestinian Authority.
Netanyahu appeared to push back on this in his joint press conference last week with Trump, insisting it would play no role in governing the territory.
In his comments to Reuters, Mustafa said that he had already nominated 5,500 Palestinians to be part of a new Gaza police force being trained by Egypt and that his goal is to train 10,000 people.
The UN says that, as of 20 August, 86% of the Gaza Strip was in either a militarised zone or under evacuation orders.
That means that only 14% of Gaza, which has a population of 2.1 million people, remains free from these zones, including in areas like Al-Mawasi on the coast in the south west of the territory where many people are living in shelters.
The Israeli military either controls or has ordered evacuations in 86% of the Gaza Strip, according to the UN
The Gaza Strip has a long road to recovery and reconstruction. As of 8 July, the UN assessed that 78% of Gaza's buildings had been damaged since the start of the war almost two years prior.
The below map shows the concentration of damage in different areas of the Gaza Strip using radar. While this can show clusters of destruction in the Strip, there may be incidents where houses have their windows or doors destroyed, but they are not picked up by radar as the main foundations are still standing.
The majority of buildings in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed
Gaza mother Laila Ezzat Al Shana, 22, gave birth during the war and was sometimes nursing her son under heavy fire
Gaza mother Laila Ezzat Al Shana, 22, has just been speaking to the BBC about her joy at the news that fighting may soon stop, but also said her family is mourning the attack on a residential flat that buried some 40 Palestinians beneath the rubble just a few hours ago.
"Today it was so beautiful because they announced the ceasefire," she said.
"The people were screaming. They were singing. Some people were shooting guns in the sky for the happiness. Some women cried."
People were celebrating, she said, because "after two years we are alive! We survived this genocide".
But she also accused Israel of committing a "massacre" in the final hours before the ceasefire begins. She says the sound of Israel's bombing has continued throughout the day.
Al Shana gave birth during the war. During that time, many of her family members have died, including her father, her uncle and several cousins.
She also described the scariest moment of her life, which she said came as she was nursing her new born inside her home as her neighbourhood came under bombardment.
"Suddenly, we hear the huge bombing and we see the home filled with dust. And I can't see, I can't hear anything. I have my son and I stayed at my place.
"Then I realized that it's inside the home. We survived by a miracle that night."
She also said she has high hopes for the future, and called on all sides to open the Gaza-Egypt border to evacuate the wounded.
Gaza City on 9 October
If completed, the first phase of Trump's 20-point plan will be followed by negotiations over the details of the later phases – but many of these points could be hard to reach an agreement on.
The proposal, which you can read in full here, says that if it is agreed by both sides, the war would "immediately end".
It says Gaza would be demilitarised and all "military, terror and offensive infrastructure" would be destroyed.
It also says Gaza would be governed by a temporary transitional committee of Palestinian technocrats – supervised by a "Board of Peace" headed and chaired by Donald Trump and involving former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Governance of the Strip would eventually be handed over to the Palestinian Authority, once it has been reformed.
Hamas would have no future role in the governance of Gaza, directly or indirectly, according to the plan.
Hamas members would be offered amnesty if they committed to peaceful co-existence or be provided safe passage to another country.
No Palestinians would be forced to leave Gaza and those who wished to leave would be free to return.
A "Trump economic development plan to rebuild and energise Gaza" would be created by a panel of experts.
Read more about the agreement: What we know about the Gaza ceasefire deal
Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.