By Leonie Thorne, ABC

All living Israeli hostages in Gaza could be released as soon as next week under the first phase of a peace plan led by the United States.

The announcement was made by US President Donald Trump, who said that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of his Gaza peace deal.

The agreement means all Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza will be released, while Israel will withdraw their troops to an agreed-upon line, Trump said.

According to Trump, the agreement represents “the first steps toward a strong, durable and everlasting peace”, but the full details are yet to be announced and there are many sticking points that could remain.

What is the Gaza peace plan?

Early last week, Trump stood alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House and presented a 20-point plan to deliver peace in Gaza.

You can read more about what was in the plan here.

The US president essentially gave Hamas an ultimatum – agree to this plan or Israel will “finish the job”.

The announcements made Thursday (NZ time) suggest at least two key parts of the deal have been agreed to – that Israel would withdraw its forces to an “agreed-upon line” to prepare for a hostage release and that all hostages would be released within 72 hours.

The status of other points in the plan – such as requiring Hamas to disarm and hand the rule of Gaza over to a temporary foreign-led transitional body, and requiring Israel to eventually fully withdraw its military from the strip – is still unclear.

The announcement Trump posted on Truth Social, confirmed by both Israel and Hamas in subsequent statements, said: “I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan.

“This 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.”

A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, which has been a key mediator in the peace talks, confirmed an agreement had been reached and said: “The details will be announced later.”

Einav Zanzauker, mother of hostage Matan Zanzauker, reacts to the hostage deal declared by the US president at Hostage Square. Photo: MAYA LEVIN/AFP

What do we know about the hostage return?

Forty-eight Israeli hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

Most of the other captives were released by Hamas in earlier ceasefire deals or rescued. Some were mistakenly killed by Israeli forces, including three who were accidentally shot dead in December 2023.

The Israeli government says 148 have been returned alive and 57 dead.

Thursday’s agreement means the 20 living hostages are expected to be released within 72 hours of the deal starting.

Some media outlets have reported that the living hostages could be released on Saturday or Sunday, local time.

Citing a government official, The New York Times reported the remains of the 28 deceased hostages would be returned to Israel in stages, because it may take longer to locate them.

Families of the remaining hostages have already started responding to the news.

Liran Berman, the older brother of twin hostages Gali and Ziv Berman, wrote on social media: “My Gali and Zivi, I love you so much. You are coming home.”

Einav Zangauker – whose son, Matan, is a hostage – said she shed tears over the news.

“Matan is coming home. To me, to [his sisters] Natalie and Shani. To [his partner] Ilana, the love of his life,” she wrote on X.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an organisation that has advocated for the safe return of the captives, shared photos of families laughing with relief and hugging in Washington DC.

Former hostages have also gathered and spoken at what has become known as ‘Hostage Square’, a public plaza in Tel Aviv close to the headquarters of the Israeli Defence Force, where hostage families have regularly gathered for the past two years to call for an end to the war.

Will there be a prisoner swap?

A key part of the 20-point plan unveiled last week was that, in exchange for the hostages, Israel would release 250 Palestinian prisoners who were serving life sentences, as well as release all Gazans who had been taken prisoner throughout the war.

On Wednesday, Hamas said it had handed over its lists of hostages and Palestinian prisoners it would like to be released, and was optimistic about the talks so far.

The announcements have not mentioned a prisoner swap, so everyone is still waiting to see if that will be confirmed, but the list of Palestinians Hamas wants freed reportedly includes some high-profile prisoners, whose release had been off limits in previous ceasefires.

One of the prisoners expected to be high on the Hamas list is Marwan Barghouti, a leader of the Fatah movement, who is widely seen as a potentially unifying figure.

Donald Trump last week said Israel had agreed to withdraw to the yellow line on this map. Photo: Truth Social/Donald Trump

He is currently serving life sentences for involvement in attacks that killed Israelis during the Second Intifada – charges he denied.

Despite spending more than 20 years in prison, Barghouti regularly tops polls as the most popular candidate for president of the Palestinian Authority.

Citing a source close to the talks, Reuters news agency reported the list also included Ahmed Saadat, the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

What do we know about Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza?

We are still waiting to see the full details of the plan agreed to, but last week, Trump posted a map on social media and said Israel had agreed to withdraw its troops to the specified line.

“After negotiations, Israel has agreed to the initial withdrawal line, which we have shown to, and shared with, Hamas,” the US president wrote on 5 October.

“When Hamas confirms, the Ceasefire will be IMMEDIATELY effective, the Hostages and Prisoner Exchange will begin, and we will create the conditions for the next phase of withdrawal.”

This has not been confirmed yet, and we may not see the exact plans Israel and Hamas have agreed to until officials release more details.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Netanyahu confirmed that a deal had been made, but did not shed much light on what exactly had been agreed to.

The IDF statement said troops had been instructed to “prepare strong defences and be ready for any scenario”.

“Force deployments will be carried out in accordance with the directives of the political echelon and the stages of the agreement, with responsibility and a focus on the safety of our soldiers,” it said.

“At the same time, the Chief of the General Staff instructed to prepare to lead the operation for the hostages’ return, which is expected to be conducted with sensitivity and professionalism.

“The IDF will continue to act to achieve the objectives of the war and to defend the citizens of the State of Israel on all fronts.”

Could this be the end of the war?

There are hopes the agreement could lead to the end of the Gaza war, which has raged since Hamas launched attacks on Israel on 7 October, 2023, killing 1200 people and taking about 250 hostages.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, Gazan health authorities say, while displacing virtually the entire population and devastating the strip.

Trump certainly was optimistic on social media.

“This 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,” he wrote. “BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”

It is still unclear whether the other points in the peace plan will be agreed to. Some of the points in the 20-point plan were previously requests that Israel and Hamas had outright rejected.

For example, one of the points would require Hamas to disarm and vacate its rule over Gaza – something it has previously said it would not do, unless a sovereign Palestinian state was established.

Meanwhile, part of the plan said that, under certain conditions, it may lead to a “credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood” – something Israel opposes, claiming a Palestinian state would pose an existential threat.

UN secretary-general António Guterres welcomed the announcement, but urged all sides to adhere to the agreement.

“All hostages must be released in a dignified manner,” he said. “A permanent ceasefire must be secured – the fighting must stop once and for all.

“Immediate and unimpeded entry of humanitarian supplies and essential commercial materials into Gaza must be ensured. The suffering must end.”

– ABC