Jason Burke, Seham Tantesh in Gaza and William Christou in Jerusalem
Thu 9 Oct 2025 18.36 EDT
First published on Thu 9 Oct 2025 15.38 EDT

In Gaza, there was joy but much anxiety. Many expressed the fear that the new deal would collapse, bringing more suffering to the devastated territory. Though crowds gathered in some places to dance and sing, in many places witnesses reported muted reaction amid loud overflights by warplanes and drones.

In Israel, on a day of fast-moving and sometimes chaotic developments, hospitals readied to receive hostages to be released by Hamas, the ruling coalition government signed off on the new ceasefire deal and thousands took to the streets of Tel Aviv to express joy and relief.

Late on Thursday evening, a statement from the government said it had “just approved the framework for the release of all the hostages – both the living and the deceased”.