Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed to a Gaza ceasefire deal to free the remaining living hostages, in a major step towards ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe.
The agreement, which follows a 20-point peace plan for Gaza announced last month by US President Donald Trump, is to be signed Thursday in Egypt and calls for Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Under the deal, there will be a surge of aid into Gaza after more than two years of war started by Hamas’s unprecedented October 2023 attack on Israel.
The Israeli army said it was preparing to pull back troops in Gaza as part of the deal.