The Israeli Government has approved a plan to free the hostages. What the media is writing

A new phase has begun in the settlement of the conflict in the Middle East — the Israeli government has approved an agreement with Hamas on the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners. At the same time, the plan was not accepted by far-right members of the Cabinet of Ministers, who may now threaten the power of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What the world media write about the development of the conflict is in the Izvestia digest.

Bloomberg: The Israeli government has approved the agreement on the release of hostages

The Israeli Government has approved an agreement under which Hamas will release all remaining hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for more than 2,000 prisoners, which will be another important step towards fulfilling the terms of the peace agreement and ending the conflict between the two sides. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the approval of the scheme, which provides for the release of all hostages, including the remains of the dead.

The move was generally expected, but it was the culmination of the first phase of the agreement after Hamas' chief negotiator announced earlier in the day that the group had agreed to end the war that was taking place in Gaza, killing tens of thousands of people and destabilizing the Middle East. Trump, whose 20-point plan formed the basis of the agreement, said he would travel to Israel to attend the hostage rescue. Hamas intends to return all the remaining 48 hostages held in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

NBC News: US to send 200 troops to Israel to support Gaza Strip

The US military is preparing options for sending up to 200 US troops to Israel to support the stabilization of the situation in the Gaza Strip and the supply of humanitarian aid and security assistance to the enclave, two US officials familiar with the action plan said. U.S. troops will remain in Israel, where they will provide logistics, transportation, engineering, and planning support, officials said.

The United States has already sent troops to Israel for various missions, including missile defense. U.S. officials have also previously supported a conflict resolution mechanism between Israel and Hezbollah during the cease-fire in Lebanon last year.

Financial Times: Netanyahu challenges far-right ahead of election

Netanyahu called the upcoming cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages a "great day" and a triumph of his diplomatic and military strategy after two years of war. But this could be the beginning of the end of his premiership. While virtually the entire Israeli public supported the deal brokered by the United States, the far-right coalition partners opposed the plan, according to which Israel should release almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners from prison, 250 of whom are serving life sentences on terrorism-related charges.

While Trump's 20—point plan provides for a comprehensive agreement on a complete end to the conflict and broader "peace in the Middle East," Netanyahu insists that only the "first phase" of the agreement has been reached — the exchange of hostages for prisoners and the partial redeployment of Israeli troops - and nothing more. The future elements of the plan proposed by the US president, which include the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops, the disarmament of Hamas, and the creation of an alternative committee of international players and Palestinians to govern the Gaza Strip, have yet to be discussed.

Reuters: Difficult questions remain about Trump's plan

Despite its potentially historic nature, Trump's hasty agreement, signed on October 9 in Egypt, leaves many unresolved issues that could slow down the implementation of the initial phase and hinder progress towards the next one. Paying tribute to Trump for the most promising breakthrough in ending the war, experts say that the immediate task will be to agree on the practical details of what was agreed on paper: a cease-fire, the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners and the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from the destroyed enclave.

Preventing the breakdown of the ceasefire agreement, as it has already happened under Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden, will require constant and detailed efforts on the part of the president and his national security team. It won't be easy to do that. At the moment, Trump, who has cited this deal as another reason why he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, appears to have made progress towards peace in the Gaza Strip by sheer force of will, surpassing what many experts thought possible.

Military inaction: Israel and Hamas have taken the first step towards a settlement

However, difficulties may arise when agreeing on the second stage of the peace deal.

The New York Times: how Jared Kushner achieved a breakthrough in the agreement

When Jared Kushner learned that Hamas was preparing to begin negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages, he was answering calls at his mansion located on an artificial island north of Miami. He got in his car and drove 20 minutes to another mansion owned by billionaire Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy for peace in the Middle East. At those crucial moments, the Trump administration's center of diplomatic power was not in Washington, but in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Florida.

Since the terms were mostly favorable to Israel, it remained unknown whether Hamas would agree to release the hostages or relinquish control of the enclave. Working with Witkoff in Miami, Kushner advised Israelis not to worry about militant claims. He focused on freeing the hostages, and eventually the parties reached an agreement.