People react as they celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting, at a plaza known as hostages square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Israel has formally approved the first phase of Donald Trump’s peace plan to end the war in Gaza.

In a statement posted online on Thursday night, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “The government has just now approved the framework for the release of all of the hostages – the living and the deceased.”

Here’s what is expected to happen next.

A ceasefire at last?

Under the peace deal agreed by both Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, a ceasefire is supposed to begin immediately.

However, eyewitnesses told the BBC that Israeli air strikes had continued overnight in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

There were reports of a gunfire near the Netzarim corridor, while witnesses told........

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