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Israeli hostages may be released as early as Saturday under a US plan to end the war in Gaza and the country's military will complete the first part of a partial withdrawal from the enclave within 24 hours of the deal being sealed, said a source briefed on details of the agreement.
The signing of the agreement is expected to take place at noon Israel time (0900 GMT) on Thursday, said the source.
Israel's security cabinet and government are due to hold meetings on the agreement at 5 p.m. Israel time (1400 GMT).
Israelis and Palestinians rejoiced after Trump announced that a ceasefire and hostage deal was reached under the first phase of his plan to end a war in Gaza that has killed more than 67,000 people and reshaped the Middle East.
However, Israeli strikes on three Gaza City suburbs continued overnight and in the morning hours of Thursday, residents said. Lines of smoke rose over Shejaia, Tuffah and Zeitoun in the early hours of Thursday, witnesses said, but there were no reports of casualties.
Just a day after the second anniversary of Hamas' cross-border attack that triggered Israel's devastating assault on Gaza, indirect talks in Egypt yielded an agreement on the initial stage of Trump’s 20-point framework to bring peace to the Palestinian enclave.
The accord, if fully implemented, would bring the two sides closer than any previous effort to halt a war that had evolved into a regional conflict, drawing in countries such as Iran, Yemen and Lebanon.
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