People celebrate in Tel Aviv after it was announced that Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a Gaza peace plan. Reuters
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(Times of Israel and NY Post) – Jubilant locals in both Gaza and Israel took to the streets early Thursday to celebrate President Trump for his role in the historic cease-fire deal — with many calling for him to get the Nobel Peace Prize.
Footage from both the streets of Tel Aviv and war-torn Gaza showed crowds of revelers celebrating what they hope will be the end of the two-year war as they hailed Trump for helping secure the deal.
“Donald Trump! Donald Trump!,” residents in Gaza could be heard cheering after the news broke Wednesday night.
“Nobel Prize to Trump,” those in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square cheered as they waved American flags and danced.
Trump’s plan calls for an immediate cease-fire, an exchange of all the 48 hostages, a staged withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, and the creation of a transitional government spearheaded by an international body.
The exchange portion of the deal would see the hostages swapped for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners — many of whom are serving life sentences in Israeli prisons.
Humanitarian aid will also be allowed to flood in during the cease-fire.
Palestinians celebrate following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan. AP
Hamas confirmed the terms of the agreement, praising “the efforts of US President Donald Trump” for helping secure the deal along with mediators in Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.
The chants from Israel and Gaza are among the latest calls for Trump to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the recipient of which will be announced on Friday. …..
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick joined in the praise, echoing, “Undoubtedly, President Trump should receive the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Days before the hostage exchange deal was secured, the families of the captives penned a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee calling for Trump to win the prize for his work in brokering a cease-fire.
The president announced late on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas have signed off on the “first phase” of his plan to secure the release of all hostages and end the Gaza war, two years and a day after the fighting was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, barbaric massacre of over 1,200 in southern Israel [and the kidnapping of 251 women, children, the elderly and men into Gaza].
“This means that ALL of the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw [its] troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a strong, durable and everlasting Peace,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He later hailed the accord as “a great day for the world,” saying, “The whole world has come together on this one, Israel, every country has come together. This has been a fantastic day… a wonderful day for everybody.”
Trump told Fox News that all the hostages would probably be released on Monday. “We think they will all be coming back on Monday… and that will include the bodies of the dead,” he said. “They [the hostages] are in a terrible situation there. They are deep, deep in the earth. As we speak, so much is happening to get the hostages freed.”
Trump was met with praise from the families of the hostages after he announced that the remaining 48 captives would likely be freed by Monday as part of the peace deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu originally nominated Trump for the award in July over America’s role in [destroying] Iran’s nuclear program during the [Israel-Iran] 12-day war and establishing the cease-fire that ended the conflict.
The White House also touted Trump as having ended seven conflicts so far, including between Israel and Iran, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Thailand and Cambodia, India and Pakistan, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo.
[Note: President Trump said Wednesday he might travel to Egypt and possibly the Gaza Strip over the weekend to finalize the peace deal ending two years of war between Israel and Hamas.“It’s something, I think, that will happen…I may go there sometime toward the end of the week. …We’ll be leaving, probably, on Sunday, maybe Saturday, maybe a little later than Saturday evening” Trump said at an unrelated White House event.
Published at NY Post on Oct. 9, 2025 by Ronny Reyes and Times of Israel by Jacob Magid and Nava Freiberg. Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission.
Questions
NOTE TO STUDENTS: Before answering the questions, read the “Background” and watch the videos under “Resources” below.
1. Why are Gazans and Israelis calling for President Donald Trump to win the Nobel Peace Prize, the winner of which will be awarded on Friday, Oct. 10?
2. List the points in Phase 1 of President Trump’s Peace Plan between Israel and Hamas that will be carried out in the next few days.
3. When confirming the terms of the agreement, what did Hamas say about Trump?
4. Consider the videos under “Resources” below and what you know about the Hamas terrorists and the plight of the Israeli hostages and those who were brutally murdered by Hamas. Whether you support or oppose his policies, do you think President Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize? Explain your answer.
Background
What do we know about the hostage-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas? (Times of Israel by Nurit Yohanan, and AFP)
President Trump, Israel and Hamas announced early Thursday that a deal had been reached to secure the release of all the remaining hostages held in Gaza, in exchange for the release of large numbers of Palestinian prisoners and a partial IDF withdrawal from the Strip.
Not all the details have been finalized, and many others have not been made public, but the main reported details about the agreement, based on Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war, follow.
A top official within Hamas told AFP that Israel would release nearly 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for around 20 living hostages as part of the deal. The figure includes 250 terror convicts serving life sentences and 1,700 others detained since the start of the war.
The exchange should take place within 72 hours of the implementation of the deal, which was also “agreed with Palestinian factions,” another source within Hamas said.
That means that the release of all the living hostages should take place by Monday, but possibly sooner. Bodies of around 28 hostages held captive in Gaza are also to be released — on Monday, according to Trump, though Hamas has said that it could take more time to locate some of them, and indicated that some may not be located.
According to the Walla news site, the prisoners released will not include notable terrorists Marwan Barghouti, Ahmad Sa’adat, Hassan Salameh or Abbas al-Sayed, whose releases Hamas sought. .. (Read more at TimesofIsrael)
Likewise, Hamas terrorists who took part in the October 7, 2023, onslaught on Israel will not be released, the report said.
Resources
Read World leaders support President Trump’s peace proposal posted Oct. 1 at the White House website.
Read a Sept article: Trump’s Gaza peace plan gets support from regional leaders”
Watch Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s October 9th summary of events leading up to the deal:
Israeli Foreign Minister Gidon Saar, October 9, 2025:
ABC News, October 8, 2025:
ABC News, October 8, 2025:
Daily “Answers” emails are provided for Daily News Articles, Tuesday’s World Events and Friday’s News Quiz.
