Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed 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.

Israel’s cabinet will meet at 1500 GMT to discuss a plan for the release of all hostages, while a deal should be signed later Thursday in Egypt, where indirect negotiations are under way.

The agreement follows a 20-point peace plan for Gaza announced last month by US President Donald Trump, under which Israel should withdraw from Gaza and release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages.

After more than two years of war sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel, the deal also envisions a surge of aid into Gaza, where the UN has declared famin

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