Families of hostages and Israelis rejoiced at Tel Aviv's Hostages Square after US President Donald Trump announced early on Thursday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Following the announcement, the Hostages Families Forum released a statement inviting the country to celebrate the news with them.
Israel-Hamas ceasefire
The agreement was announced after intensive talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, where US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner pushed the two parties to an agreement, along with Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
The plan was signed at noon in Egypt, and will come into effect after the Israeli government ratifies it in a vote set for 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Twenty living hostages are expected to be released within 72 hours of the deal entering effect. Additionally, Arab reports indicated that Hamas had begun collecting the remains of deceased hostages to return to Israel.
In the immediate wake of the announcement of the deal, the IDF began preparing to shift its deployment lines in the Palestinian enclave after The Jerusalem Post previously reported Israel had reached a full agreement on the maps detailing the military's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.