Israel approves Trump Gaza ceasefire plan, hostages to be freed

Israel’s Cabinet early Friday approved President Donald Trump’s plan for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas, a key step toward ending the two-year war that has destabilized the Middle East. Palestinian officials said at least two people were killed in strikes, a sign that the battlefield was still moving faster than the diplomacy.

The framework demands hard moves from both sides. Hamas would have to give up its weapons, while Israel would have to stop its attacks in Gaza; an Al Jazeera explainer said the plan would also require Israel to withdraw from Gaza. That combination is difficult to enforce because each step depends on the next, and the process has already been described as vulnerable to phased implementation problems.

The hostage issue sits at the center of the deal. The agreement includes the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, and Hamas accepted some elements of Trump’s Gaza peace plan. Israel and Hamas later accepted part of Trump’s plan to free hostages and prisoners, suggesting that the most immediate pieces of the framework were the most politically and operationally achievable.

Egypt has helped carry the diplomatic track. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi called Trump’s Mideast proposal a “last chance” for peace, underscoring how tightly the cease-fire push has been linked to regional mediation rather than a purely bilateral bargain. Trump also said his newly formed Board of Peace had reached a “historic” agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, a demand that goes well beyond a pause in fighting and would require sustained verification on the ground.

The deal’s implementation burden was already visible at the Oct. 13, 2025, signing ceremony in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, where more than 20 world leaders gathered to witness the cease-fire agreement. That ceremony marked a major diplomatic moment, but it did not resolve the mechanics of withdrawal, disarmament, and hostage release that remain the core test of any durable cease-fire.

With fresh strikes still killing people while the plan advances, the gap between announcement and battlefield reality remains the central obstacle. The cease-fire can only hold if Hamas surrenders weapons, Israel halts attacks and withdraws, and the hostage-prisoner exchanges proceed without the process collapsing under renewed fire.