Overview

• President Donald Trump announced agreement on an initial phase that pairs a pause in fighting and an Israeli pullback to an agreed line with a hostage–prisoner exchange.
• Hamas said the arrangement includes Israeli withdrawal, the entry of humanitarian aid, and a swap of detainees, while Qatar publicly confirmed a first-phase agreement by both parties.
• Netanyahu said he will convene his government to approve the deal, with Israeli officials indicating hostage releases could start as early as Saturday after lists were exchanged.
• Reporting indicates 48 hostages remain in Gaza and roughly 20 are believed alive, with sources saying the living could be freed this weekend as Israeli forces begin withdrawing from most of the territory.
• Key details remain unsettled, including sequencing and verification, Hamas disarmament that the group rejects, and post-war governance of Gaza, even as talks continue in Sharm el-Sheikh with U.S., Qatari, Egyptian, and Turkish mediators.