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Israel and Hamas agree to first phase of Gaza ceasefire plan
Jessie Yeung Lex Harvey
By Jessie Yeung and Lex Harvey, CNN
Updated 3:32 AM EDT, Thu October 9, 2025
CNN reports moments after Israel-Hamas ceasefire plan announced
01:16
Where things stand
• Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire plan that will allow for the swift release of all hostages in Gaza, Israeli withdrawal to an agreed point, and the release of some Palestinian prisoners.
• President Donald Trump said the hostages are likely to be released on Monday. His announcement of the agreement did not address some sticking points in the proposal, including Hamas disarmament and governance of Gaza.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the agreement was a “diplomatic success and a national and moral victory” for his country. Hamas thanked Trump and all mediators involved: Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey.
• The agreement was met with celebration in Gaza and Israel, though residents on both sides expressed trepidation that a deal may still fall through.
4 min ago
European leaders welcome Gaza ceasefire plan
From CNN’s Helen Regan
As Europeans begin their day, their leaders have started to react to the Gaza ceasefire agreement reached overnight.
Here’s what some of them said:
European Union: President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said the EU “will continue to support the swift and safe delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza. And when the time comes, we will be ready to help with recovery and reconstruction.” The bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the agreement “marks a significant breakthrough” and “a real chance to end a devastating war and release all the hostages.”
France: President Emmanuel Macron called on all parties to “strictly respect” the terms of the agreement. “This agreement must mark the end of the war and the opening of a political solution based on the two-State solution. France stands ready to contribute to this objective.”
Italy: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the agreement “extraordinary news,” and “a unique opportunity to end this conflict that must absolutely be seized.” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the country is ready to send troops if peacekeeping forces are needed.
Netherlands: Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on X the agreement “could potentially end the suffering of so many: the hostages and their families, and the population of Gaza.” Schoof said the agreement “must be a step toward sustainable and just peace.”
Ireland: Taoiseach Micheál Martin welcomed the agreement on X and urged “all sides to fully abide by this ceasefire and for the release of all hostages, and an immediate surge of humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine.”
13 min ago
Palestinian Authority president welcomes ceasefire plan
From CNN’s Lex Harvey
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in London on September 8.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in London on September 8.
Jonathan Brady/Reuters
Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, welcomed the Gaza ceasefire plan and urged Israel and Hamas to commit to it in a statement.
Abbas called Thursday for the “immediate implementation of the agreement,” including the release of all hostages and prisoners and “the entry of urgent humanitarian aid” to Gaza.
He praised the efforts of US President Donald Trump and mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey in the ceasefire talks.
Abbas also urged the international community to compel Israel to stop “settlement activities” in the West Bank, halt hate speech against Palestinians, and stop undermining Palestinian Authority institutions, among other measures.
“Sovereignty over the Gaza Strip belongs to the State of Palestine,” Abbas said.
12 min ago
World leaders welcome Gaza ceasefire agreement
From CNN’s Helen Regan
Leaders from around the world are welcoming the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Here’s what some have said:
Turkey: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan extended his “special thanks” to US President Donald Trump, who he said “demonstrated the necessary political will to encourage the Israeli government toward the ceasefire.” Erdogan said in an X post that Turkey, which was among the mediators involved, “will closely monitor the meticulous implementation of the agreement” and “continue our struggle until a Palestinian state is established.”
Britain: “This is a moment of profound relief that will be felt all around the world, but particularly for the hostages, their families, and for the civilian population of Gaza, who have all endured unimaginable suffering over the last two years,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, as reported by Britain’s Press Association.
Canada: “Congratulations to President Trump for his essential leadership and thank you to Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye for their tireless work to support the negotiations,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said. “I am relieved that the hostages will soon be reunited with their families.”
India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he hopes the release of the hostages and increased humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza would bring respite to them and pave the way for lasting peace.
Pakistan: “The announcement of an agreement that will bring an end to the genocide in Gaza is a historic opportunity to secure lasting peace in the Middle East,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.
Australia: “After more than two years of conflict, hostages held and a devastating loss of civilian life, this is a much needed step towards peace” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a joint statement. “We urge all parties to respect the terms of the plan.”
New Zealand: “President Trump’s announcement … is a watershed moment in a conflict that has killed too many,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said. “New Zealand welcomes the news and hopes this provides a platform for a lasting solution where future generations of Israelis and Palestinians live in peace and security.”
Argentina: President Javier Milei congratulated his US counterpart, calling the agreement historic and an “extraordinary contribution to international peace,” on X.
3 min ago
“We’re going back to our homes”: Some children in Gaza celebrate ceasefire agreement
From CNN’s Abeer Salman and Lucas Lilieholm
A Palestinian woman builds a fire as children look towards it while beside a tent in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Thursday, after the announcement that Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire.
A Palestinian woman builds a fire as children look towards it while beside a tent in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Thursday, after the announcement that Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire.
Ramadan Abed/Reuters
A group of children stayed up late on Wednesday night in Gaza City amid celebrations of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
In a video obtained by CNN, four smiling young girls tell a journalist they are happy they might be able to soon go home.
Asked why she was happy, one girl says: “Because we’re going back to our homes.”
“We’ve spent two years, and now we’re starting the third, living in a war. We’re very tired of this life,” she says. “Now we want to go back. Now if they tell us to go back, we will go back.”
Another girl, wearing striped pajamas with the word “queen” printed on them, says the children are still awake because they were watching the celebrations.
Children in Gaza have endured two catastrophic years of conflict, caught between relentless military attacks and spiralling food insecurity.
The UN children’s agency marked the second anniversary of the war with a call for an end to the conflict and its devastating cost to children in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
“In the last two years, a staggering 64,000 children have reportedly been killed or maimed across the Gaza Strip, including at least 1,000 babies. We don’t know how many more have died due to preventable illnesses or are buried under the rubble,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.
49 min ago
Rights groups offer measured take on "cruelly overdue" agreement
From CNN’s Helen Regan
International humanitarian and rights groups have offered tempered reactions to the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, urging both parties to fully end hostilities and allow an unhindered flow of supplies into Gaza.
Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said the “cruelly overdue” agreement would “not erase” all that Palestinians in Gaza have endured.
“After two years of shameful double standards and vetoes that strangled the UN Security Council as a livestreamed genocide is broadcast to the world, it is time to seize the opportunity to end this horror, mend what can be mended and salvage what is left of our shared humanity,” Callamard said in a statement.
The current plan put forward by US President Donald Trump “falls woefully short,” Callamard added.
“It fails to demand justice and reparations for victims of atrocity crimes or accountability for perpetrators,” and “fails to ensure that Palestinians fully and meaningfully participate in all decisions about the future of the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territory).”
The Norwegian Refugee Council’s Secretary General Jan Egeland said the agreement “offers a glimmer of hope.”
But he urged that “stopping the bombing alone will not end survivors’ suffering” and the parties “must not repeat the mistakes of previous ceasefires.”
“This truce cannot be another fragile pause before renewed bloodshed, and Israel must not use it as an opportunity to escalate its military operations and enable settler violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” Egeland said.
1 hr 7 min ago
Israel and Hamas had to give up “maximalist objectives” to reach ceasefire plan, analyst says
From CNN’s Lex Harvey
To reach the ceasefire agreement, both Israel and Hamas had to “give up on maximalist objectives,” said Dalia Dassa Kaye, a Senior Fellow at UCLA’s Burkle Center for International Relations.
Israel’s main war aims were “to dismantle Hamas and get the hostages out,” she told CNN’s Lynda Kinkade.
If they succeed in getting the remaining hostages out of Gaza, Israel will have accomplished “a very critical war aim and also an aim that is very, very important to the Israeli public,” Kaye said, adding it’s unlikely to the war will end unless the hostages are released.
But Hamas is “not a dismantled organization,” she said. “It’s weak, it’s diminished, it’s not capable of attacking Israel again in the way we saw on October 7th, two years ago. But it’s still there.”
Meanwhile, Kaye said, “Hamas ultimately did not get its full interest in having an Israeli withdrawal all the way out of Gaza. There will be only be a limited withdrawal.”
Some context: The plan includes the release of all hostages held by Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops to an agreed-upon line. But there is still a lack of clarity on key sticking points, including the disarmament of Hamas, the governance of Gaza, as well as what, if any, security guarantees have been made to stop hostilities from erupting again.
30 min ago
Explosions continue in Gaza despite ceasefire plan
From CNN’s Abeer Salman and Jessie Yeung
Smoke rises from Gaza, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire, as seen from the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, on Wednesday.
Smoke rises from Gaza, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire, as seen from the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, on Wednesday.
Ammar Awad/Reuters
Explosions can still be heard in Gaza on Thursday morning, despite Hamas and Israel reaching an agreement on a ceasefire plan hours earlier, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense organization.
“Since the announcement of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza last night, Israel has launched a number of attacks, and explosions have been heard, especially in areas north of Gaza,” said the Civil Defense.
Live footage from Reuters news agency showed smoke rising over Gaza in the early hours of Thursday.
Attacks on the enclave had continued throughout this week, despite President Donald Trump urging Israel to stop the bombing, with residents describing deadly explosions on Tuesday and Wednesday.
30 min ago
Israeli security cabinet to meet at 5 p.m. local time, source tells CNN
From Eugenia Yosef
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, during a news conference with US President Donald Trump in the State Dining Room of the White House on Monday.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, during a news conference with US President Donald Trump in the State Dining Room of the White House on Monday.
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to convene a security cabinet meeting at 5 p.m. local time today (10 a.m. ET), followed by a government vote, an Israeli official has told CNN.
The vote will only be on an agreement between Israel and Hamas to release Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees, and not the entire ceasefire framework, the official said.
To “enable the return of the hostages,” Israeli forces will remain “positioned along the yellow line withdrawing from Gaza City and the Netzarim corridor, while still remaining in 53 percent of the Strip,” the source said.
The yellow line is a reference to a proposed ceasefire map released by the White House late last month that showed multiple stages of withdrawal.
This morning, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said the military had “begun operational preparations for the implementation of the agreement, including conducting preparations and a combat procedure for transitioning to adapted deployment lines in the near future.”
1 hr 1 min ago
Israel and Hamas have agreed to an initial Gaza ceasefire plan. What's next?
From CNN's Jeremy Diamond and Tal Shalev
Hamas and Israel have reached a deal. What's next?Video Hamas and Israel have reached a deal. What's next?
Though Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire plan, there’s more work to be done.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his government today to ratify the agreement.
Under law, after the cabinet votes in favor of the deal, there is a short window for petitions to be filed to challenge the releases; after that hurdle is cleared, the government can proceed with the release of prisoners and detainees.
Only after that can the hostage release proceed – which US President Donald Trump said could come by Monday.
A senior White House official told CNN that it’s possible the timeline could change. “Once they vote yes, Israel has to withdraw to the line which should take under 24 hours,” the official said. “Then the 72 hour clock begins, and Hamas will try to go earlier if possible,” the official said — referring to the timeline outlined in the ceasefire plan.
Trump also said he is likely to visit Israel and address its parliament in the coming days.
But some details will have to be hammered out. It’s unclear which Palestinian prisoners will be released, though a Hamas official said Hamas and Israel have already exchanged lists of names. And Israeli sources have said Hamas may not be able to locate some hostage bodies.
Beyond the next few days, a longer-term peace process will hopefully unfold – tackling the tricky questions of Hamas’ disarmament and Gaza’s governance.
Trump had previously released a plan in which a Palestinian committee overseen by an international body would run Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority is ready to take over. That international body would be led by Trump himself, along with other heads of state.
But the president made no mention of how Gaza would be governed when announcing the agreement.
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