1 hour and 10 minutes ago
Living hostages expected to be released on Sunday or Monday, official says
A senior Israeli official told ABC News that the 72-hour window for Hamas releasing all hostages will begin after the Israeli government ratifies the deal, which it is expected to do at around 6 p.m. local time — 11 a.m. ET — on Thursday.
The 20 hostages thought to still be alive are expected to be released all in one group on Sunday or Monday, the official said.
People celebrate at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on Oct. 9, 2025, following news of a new Gaza ceasefire deal.
Maya Levin/AFP via Getty Images
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
1 hour and 58 minutes ago
Abbas backs deal, says Gaza sovereignty ‘belongs to the state of Palestine’
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the Gaza ceasefire in a Thursday statement, saying that ultimate sovereignty over the devastated coastal territory «belongs to the state of Palestine.»
This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority’s press office shows Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his headquarters in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Sept. 22, 2025.
Thaer Ghanaim/PPO/AFP via Getty Images
«President Abbas expressed hope that these efforts would be a prelude to reaching a permanent political solution, as announced by President Trump, leading to an end to the Israeli occupation of the state of Palestine and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967, borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,» the statement said.
Abbas also expressed Palestinian «readiness to work with relevant mediators and international partners to ensure» the success of the ceasefire proposal, and urged «all parties to commit to the immediate implementation of the agreement.»
The statement said that Abbas «reiterated that sovereignty over the Gaza Strip belongs to the state of Palestine, and that the connection between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip must be achieved through Palestinian laws and government institutions, through a unified Palestinian administrative committee and Palestinian security forces, within the framework of a single system and law, and with Arab and international support.»
Far-right Israeli minister calls for ‘eradication’ of Hamas after hostage release
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a post to X on Thursday that he will not vote to support U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed ceasefire deal, saying Israel should continue its campaign against Hamas once the hostages have been returned.
Smoke rises following an Israeli military strike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, on Oct. 9, 2025.
Ariel Schalit/AP
«Mixed emotions on a complex morning,» Smotrich — a prominent advocate of expanding Israeli settlements in the West Bank, reviving settlements in Gaza and curtailing any Palestinian political independence — said in a post to X, expressing «immense joy for the return of all our abducted.»
Smotrich heads the Religious Zionism party which controls seven seats in the Knesset and is part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government.
Smotrich said he had «great fear of the consequences of emptying prisons and releasing the next generation of terror leadership, which will do everything to continue spilling rivers of Jewish blood,» referring to Israel’s agreement to release a large number of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.
«For this reason alone, we cannot join the short-sighted celebrations and vote in favor of the deal,» Smotrich said.
The minister added that he felt a «tremendous responsibility» to ensure that the ceasefire deal does not constitute an agreement for «hostages in exchange for stopping the war.»
Smotrich said he hoped that «immediately after the hostages return home, the state of Israel will continue to strive with all its might for the true eradication of Hamas and the genuine disarmament of Gaza, so that it no longer poses a threat to Israel.»
2 hours and 54 minutes ago
Israeli president says Trump deserves Nobel Peace Prize
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a post to X on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s «incredible leadership» in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations has left «no doubt that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.»
A person wearing a mask depicting U.S. President Donald Trump holds American and Israeli flags at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on Oct. 9, 2025.
Maya Levin/AFP via Getty Images
«This is a morning of historic and momentous news,» Herzog wrote, expressing his «full support» for the proposed ceasefire deal.
Of Trump, Herzog said the president «will be received with immense respect, affection and gratitude by the people of Israel» if he visits the country in the coming days.
