After President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of his peace plan, efforts are underway to speed up the release of the hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Under Phase 1 of the plan, the Palestinian militant group is expected to release all living and dead hostages, while Israel is expected to withdraw its troops to an “agreed upon line” and release some Palestinian prisoners.

A senior White House official told the Deseret News the peace deal will head to the Israeli Cabinet on Thursday to be voted on. Once the Cabinet votes yes, Israel will withdraw to the agreed upon line, which is expected to take less than 24 hours.

At that point, the 72-hour clock begins for hostages to be returned to Israel — and there is an expectation Ha

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