Mediators aiming to sign deal tomorrow to immediately free living hostages, begin ceasefire — sources tell ToI

By Jacob Magid

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8 October 2025, 8:33 pm

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Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, right, and Jared Kushner arrive before President Donald Trump holds a news conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at which Trump unveiled a plan to end the war in Gaza, in the State Dining Room of the White House, September 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Mediators are currently planning for an agreement to be signed tomorrow between Israel and Hamas that will see the immediate release of remaining living hostages in exchange for a Gaza ceasefire, an Arab diplomat and a second source briefed on the ongoing negotiations in Egypt tell The Times of Israel.

Once the ceasefire is in place, Hamas will then be able to gather the bodies of the slain hostages for their subsequent return to Israel, the sources say.

There are currently 48 hostages remaining in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

The agreement the mediators are planning for Thursday will be on what stakeholders are referring to as the “first phase” of US President Donald Trump’s plan for ending the war, the sources say.