Middle East Crisis Updates: Israel Approves Gaza Deal That Would Free Hostages and Prisoners

Mr. Trump said that he would travel to the Middle East this weekend to attend the signing of the agreement, and that the return of Israeli hostages — and a subsequent exchange of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel — would take place “Monday or Tuesday.”

At the White House, he celebrated the initial agreements between Israel and Hamas as “a momentous breakthrough” that would bring “peace to the Middle East.” U.S. officials said 200 American troops would be sent to Israel to help coordinate the execution of the deal.

It remained unclear on Thursday evening if the war was truly coming to an end. The initial agreement between Hamas and Israel addresses only a few of the 20 points in a plan Mr. Trump proposed last month, and some of the most difficult issues appeared to have been left to a future phase of negotiations. Those include who would rule postwar Gaza and whether Hamas would lay down its weapons.

When asked if the deal meant the end of the war, Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, told Fox News, “It’s the implementation of the first phase.” Though more conditions must still be met, he added, “We don’t have any intention to renew the war.”

Here’s what else to know:

• U.S. troops: The 200 American troops will work out of a civil-military coordination center that the U.S. Central Command plans to establish in Israel to help coordinate the many aspects of the deal, according to U.S. officials. The American force, mostly military planners, logistics, security and other support specialists, will join soldiers from nations in the region, including Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. There is no plan to send U.S. military into Gaza, one of the U.S. officials said.

• What’s next? The foreign minister, Mr. Saar, said the truce would begin immediately after the Israeli government approved the deal, and Israeli media reported that it had gone into effect. Yet, there was a degree of uncertainty about whether it had begun; earlier, an Israeli government spokeswoman, Shosh Bedrosian, said a cease-fire would go into effect in Gaza 24 hours after the vote. Israeli forces would first pull its forces back to lines that will leave them in control of about 53 percent of the Gaza Strip, said Ms. Bedrosian. After the withdrawal, Hamas would then have 72 hours to return all the hostages, she added. Here’s what we know about the deal.

• Aid push: The United Nations said it was preparing to rush desperately needed food, medicine and other aid into Gaza, where severe hunger has taken hold and some children have died of starvation. Some 2.1 million people live in the enclave, where most infrastructure has been reduced to rubble and basic municipal services like clean water, functioning sewage systems and garbage pickups are in shambles.

• Prisoners and hostages: Officials were still finalizing a list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed by Israel in exchange for the remaining hostages and the bodies of those who have died in captivity. President Trump’s proposal stipulated that 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and another 1,700 Gazans detained during the war would be released. Israel has said that Hamas still holds about 20 living hostages.

• Toll of war: The war in Gaza started in October 2023 when Hamas led an attack on southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking about 250 hostages. The Israeli military has since killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, including civilians and combatants, according to the Gaza health ministry, and reduced the territory’s infrastructure to ruins. About 1,000 Israeli soldiers have also been killed in fighting.

• Risk for Hamas: In agreeing to a deal, Hamas is giving up much of the leverage it has with Israel. While the agreement achieves the release of Palestinian prisoners, there is no certainty it will lead to the end of the war and it provides for only a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Read more ›

• Hope in Gaza: ⁠Palestinians in Gaza welcomed the agreement, but many had questions about what it will mean for them, their loved ones and their devastated communities. Their situation had not changed in any material way on Thursday morning — food, water and medicine remained scarce and their cityscapes remained ruined — but there were reasons for hope.