ISRAEL APPROVES FIRST PHASE OF GAZA DEAL

Israeli PM Netanyahu meeting with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and the U.S. president Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Fri 10 October 2025:

The Israeli government has approved the plan “for the release of all captives”, Netanyahu’s office says in a brief post on social media.

Senior US administration officials on the nitty-gritty of what’s to come next. They emphasise that this is phase one of the two-phase plan that Trump has been brokering, and phase two is going to be much more complicated.

Among the questions that are still unanswered is how to enforce what these senior administration officials called an “almost permanent ceasefire”.

That includes questions over how to get Hamas disarmed, and whether Hamas even agrees to that? Another question is, how will the technocratic government, the coalition that is envisioned to eventually run Gaza, actually work? And then another point brought up in this call from senior administration officials is what would trigger Israel to redeploy?

So many outstanding questions, and the officials cautioned this is still a very delicate time.

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US sending 200 troops to support ceasefire, official tells AP

A senior US official has told The Associated Press news agency that the US is deploying about 200 troops to help support and monitor the ceasefire deal.

The unnamed official said the troops would be deployed to Israel, where US Central Command will establish a “civil-military coordination center”.

The official said the command will help facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid as well as logistical and security assistance into Gaza. The official said no US troops would be sent to the Palestinian enclave.

The troops will be part of a team that includes partner nations, nongovernmental organisations and private sector players, US officials said Thursday.

The US deployed about 100 troops to Israel last year to help operate Israel’s air defence systems.

Tough questions abound on long-term future of Gaza

Al Jazeera’s James Bays

For example, we’re supposed to have an international stabilisation force. That’s not a temporary thing; that’s supposed to be the long-term security situation in the Trump plan for the Gaza Strip.

Which countries are going to provide that security force? Which countries are going to come forward? The only notable one so far is Indonesia, which has pledged to send troops.

And then how is Gaza going to be run?

The 20-point plan put forward by President Trump proposes a technocratic committee with the involvement of a number of different international figures, including Trump and the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. But there are so many questions about the Trump plan as you go from the opening points.

What has Trump said about ceasefire?

The US president has hailed an initial agreement on the first phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. But several questions continue to surround the deal.

Here’s what Trump has said:

Trump has said he “ended the war”, even as Israel’s government has yet to approve the initial agreement, which only concerns the first phase of the ceasefire. He said the deal will lead to “a lasting peace, hopefully an everlasting peace”.
Trump said wealth in the region will do “wonders for Gaza”, but did not elucidate a clear plan on rebuilding the devastated enclave.
He said Israeli captives will be released on “Monday or Tuesday”.
Trump would not give details on what guarantees were given to assure a lasting ceasefire, saying: “There’s going to be a large group of people determining what it will be … very rich countries are going to be funding it.”
Trump has said “nobody will be forced to leave Gaza”, after earlier this year suggesting forced displacement of Palestinians.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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