Overview

• Crowds in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square and Palestinians in Gaza celebrated after the president said Israel and Hamas had reached a pact for a ceasefire and the hostages’ return.
• Israel reports that of roughly 250 people abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, 20 of those still in Gaza are alive and 28 are confirmed dead.
• Indirect talks in Egypt produced the first phase of the president’s framework, combining a ceasefire with a hostage deal intended to conclude the two-year conflict.
• Families of captives, whose sustained protests kept pressure on leaders, publicly thanked the president and said the announcement lifted a long-standing national anguish.
• Relatives and former captives described tears and relief as the square’s countdown clock, a symbol of the ordeal, now pointed toward expected returns even as some strikes in Gaza continued.