The Times of Israel is liveblogging Friday’s events as they happen.
Witkoff: Netanyahu ‘made some very difficult calls, don’t think we get to this place without him’
US President Donald Trump believes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “made some very, very difficult calls, and lesser people would not have made those calls” amid the war against Hamas, says US special envoy Steve Witkoff during the cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
“The hard job was the prime minister’s,” says Witkoff, alongside Netanyahu. “He had the job of protecting this country. He had the job of making tough choices with regards of how tough to be with Hamas, when to be flexible, when not to be flexible.”
Witkoff says there were times that he thought Israel should have been more flexible. “But the truth is, as I look back, I don’t think we get to this place without Prime Minister Netanyahu.”
Government approves deal to free the hostages, with most ministers voting in favor; Gaza ceasefire takes effect
The government approves the deal for Hamas to free all 48 remaining hostages in Gaza, the Prime Minister’s Office says.
With the passage of the vote, a ceasefire now comes into effect.
The release of the hostages, in exchange for some 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners and a partial IDF withdrawal, is the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
Most cabinet ministers vote in favor of the deal, including Minister Ofir Sofer of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionism party, all of whose other ministers opposed the deal. So too did all members of the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party.
The IDF will now withdraw to new lines inside the Gaza Strip, retaining a deployment controlling some 53 percent of the Gaza territory, after which the 72-hour window for Hamas to release all the hostages will commence.
Kushner: Release of hostages ‘wouldn’t have been possible without the bravery of the IDF and its soldiers’
US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, a close confidant on Middle East issues, praises Israel’s military performance over the last two years during the government meeting in Jerusalem convened to vote on the ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.
“Obviously bringing the hostages home has been a priority for President Trump for a very, very long time, and we’ve all worked very tirelessly to do that,” says Kushner.
“This all would not have been possible without the bravery of the IDF and its soldiers, what they’ve accomplished not just in Gaza, but also what they’ve done in the theater over the last couple of years to eliminate Hezbollah in the north and really degrade them,” he continues.
“What you were able to do in Iran, it really helped set a big tone,” he says. “But particularly seeing the way your citizen army — you know, a lot of you have been through sacrifices on the line to fight for your country to try and make a difference — I think that made a very very big difference in there.”
Kushner says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “really did an incredible job with this, and did a great job with the negotiations.”
“You held your lines firm and I think that between you and President Trump, you had a lot of alignment on what the end state should be,” he concludes.
Alongside US envoys, Netanyahu tells cabinet that Israel ‘about to achieve goal’ of hostages’ return
Speaking at the cabinet meeting called to ratify the hostage release deal with Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel “is about to achieve” the return of its hostages.
“We’ve fought during these two years to achieve our war aims,” says Netanyahu in English, alongside top White House aides Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. “A central one of these war aims is to return the hostages, all of the hostages, the living and the dead. And we are about to achieve that goal.”
Netanyahu says Israel “couldn’t have achieved it without the extraordinary help of President Trump and his team, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. They worked tirelessly with Ron [Dermer] and his team, our team. And that, and the courage of our soldiers, to enter Gaza, and combine military and diplomatic pressure that isolated Hamas, I think has brought us to this point.”
He thanks the two American for their long hours of work. “I think you put in your brains, and your hearts,” he says.
“And we know that it’s for the benefit of Israel and the United States, and the benefit of the decent people of the world. And for the benefit of these families who will finally get to be with their loved ones.”
וידאו: דברי ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו בישיבת הממשלה לאישור מתווה שחרור החטופים, יחד עם השליח המיוחד סטיב וויטקוף וחתנו של נשיא ארה״ב ג׳ארד קושנר. pic.twitter.com/OFz7xy0iZe
— ראש ממשלת ישראל (@IsraeliPM_heb) October 9, 2025
Signed deal for ‘comprehensive end of Gaza war’ says all hostages will be freed 72 hours after IDF withdrawal
The Kan public broadcaster publishes a copy of the agreement signed in Egypt by Israel, Hamas and mediators to free the hostages and end the war in Gaza.
The document, titled “Implementation Steps for President’s Trump for a ‘Comprehensive End of Gaza War,'” details the stages of the deal, beginning with the American leader’s announcement of “the end to the war in the Gaza Strip, and that the parties have agreed to implement the necessary steps to that end.”
The second step states that “the war will immediately end upon the approval of the Israeli government,” which is currently meeting to vote on the deal, with all military operations coming to a halt.
The third step calls for the “immediate commencement of full entry of humanitarian aid and relief” into the Gaza Strip, while the fourth says that the “IDF will withdraw to lines agreed upon as per map X attached herewith, and this will be completed after President Trump’s announcement and within 24 hours of Israeli government approval.”
“The IDF will not return to areas that have been withdrawn from, as long as Hamas fully implements the agreement.”
In the fifth step, which will take place “within 72 hours of the withdrawal of Israeli forces, all Israeli hostages, living and deceased, held in Gaza will be released.”
While declaring all living and dead captives will be released during this 72-hour span, one of the fifth step’s subclauses calls for “the establishment of an information-sharing mechanism… on any deceased hostages that were not retrieved within the 72 hours or remains of Gazans held by Israel.”
“The mechanism shall ensure that the remains of all the hostages fully and safely exhumed and released. Hamas shall exert maximum effort to ensure the fulfillment of these commitments as soon as possible,” it adds.
The next subclause states that “as Hamas releases all the hostages, Israel will release in parallel the corresponding number of Palestinian prisoners as per the attaches lists,” followed by another subclause declaring “the exchange of hostages and prisoners will be done according to the mechanism agreed upon through the mediators and through the ICRC without any public ceremonies or media coverage.”
The final step listed says “a task force will be formed of representatives from the United States, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey and other countries to be agreed upon by the parties, to follow up on the implementation with the two sides and coordinate with them.”
According to Kan, the signed deal has “annexes” with further details on the implementation.
SCOOP: this is the agreement document between Israel and Hamas under the title "Comprehensive End to the Gaza War" – including the signature of the mediators. More details of my story – at @kann_news pic.twitter.com/1qGPGFck7q
— Gili Cohen (@gilicohen10) October 9, 2025