{"id":89944,"date":"2025-10-08T23:19:43","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T04:19:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=89944"},"modified":"2025-10-08T23:19:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T04:19:43","slug":"deal-to-release-all-of-the-hostages-from-gaza-has-been-struck-trump-announces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/deal-to-release-all-of-the-hostages-from-gaza-has-been-struck-trump-announces\/","title":{"rendered":"Deal to release \u2018ALL of the hostages\u2019 from Gaza has been struck, Trump announces"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By PHILISSA CRAMER<\/p>\n<p>(JTA) \u2014 Dozens of Israeli hostages held for two years in Gaza, including 20 who remain alive, are set to be released imminently following an agreement between Israel and Hamas that could lead to a permanent ceasefire.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_89946\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2239236838-2160x1200-1.avif\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-89946\" class=\"wp-image-89946\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/GettyImages-2239236838-2160x1200-1.avif\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"167\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-89946\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the Australian Jewish community hold a banner bearing the portraits of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip by Palestinian militants during a rally in Sydney on Oct 7, 2025, to mark the two-year anniversary of the attack by Hamas on Israel. (David Gray\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>U.S. President Donald Trump announced the deal on Wednesday evening, saying that both sides had signed off on a \u201cfirst phase\u201d of the peace proposal he unveiled last week. The agreement came a day after the second anniversary of Hamas\u2019 attack on southern Israel, when the group that has controlled Gaza took about 250 hostages. Of them, 48 remain.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly!\u201d he wrote on Truth Social. \u201cThis is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the agreement in a post on X. \u201cWith the approval of the first phase of the plan, all our hostages will be brought home. This is a diplomatic success and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Soon, social media began to fill with footage of celebrations. In Israel, hostage families who have battled for their loved ones\u2019 return could be seen dancing in jubilation and the hostages freed in past ceasefires posted videos of themselves weeping as they addressed the men they were forced to leave behind. In Gaza, Palestinians who have endured two years of deadly bombing, pressing hunger and mass displacement expressed hope that the pressing dangers they face could soon recede.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udca5Einav Zangauker, Michel Iluz, Hagai and Anat Angrest, and Ayelet Samerano\u2013 all parents of hostages\u2013 in a huge group hug at Hostages Square. They fought like lions.  <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yotiYggzDC\">pic.twitter.com\/yotiYggzDC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Noga Tarnopolsky \u05e0\u05d2\u05d4 \u05d8\u05e8\u05e0\u05d5\u05e4\u05d5\u05dc\u05e1\u05e7\u05d9 \u0646\u0648\u063a\u0627 \u062a\u0631\u0646\u0648\u0628\u0648\u0644\u0633\u0643\u064a (@NTarnopolsky) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NTarnopolsky\/status\/1976086268112183744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>An exact timeline for the hostage release was not immediately clear, but Israeli media reported that urgent preparations were underway with the expectation that hostages could come home by the weekend \u2014 ahead of the Simchat Torah holiday that marks the two-year anniversary of the attack in the Jewish calendar. Family members abroad were being flown to Israel and hospitals were being prepared to receive 20 men who have experienced two years of brutality and hunger.<\/p>\n<p>Special attention was being paid, Israeli media reported, to the families whose loved ones would not immediately return \u2014 while Hamas committed to returning the bodies of deceased hostages, it has reportedly not yet located all of them and there is a widespread expectation that some may never be found.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Jewish groups as well as Israeli hostage advocacy groups welcomed the announcement in press releases and videos that expressed appreciation for Trump\u2019s aggressive efforts to press for a deal. Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff joined the Gaza talks earlier on Wednesday, in a sign that an agreement was potentially imminent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Israeli government must convene immediately to approve the agreement,\u201d the Hostages and Missing Families Forum wrote on Instagram. \u201cAny delay could exact a heavy toll on the hostages and soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The exact terms of the deal were still emerging on Wednesday evening but Israeli media was reporting that Israel would retain control of a majority of Gaza until the last hostage is released and that Israeli would not be required to release from its prisons anyone involved in the Oct. 7 attack.<\/p>\n<p>Many elements of Trump\u2019s peace proposal, including demands that Hamas disarm and that a postwar governance structure be established, are expected to be negotiated after the first phase. Israel ended the last ceasefire, in February, rather than continue negotiating. But Trump has indicated that he plans to maintain pressure on both sides to extend their truce into a permanent peace.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Deal%20to%20release%20%E2%80%98ALL%20of%20the%20hostages%E2%80%99%20from%20Gaza%20has%20been%20struck%2C%20Trump%20announces\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":89946,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[40,6630,8781,8790,3029,8788],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89944"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89944"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89947,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89944\/revisions\/89947"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}