Israeli Withdrawal, Captive for Prisoners Swap, and Entry of Aid: What’s in the Gaza Ceasefire Deal?

By Aseel Saleh – Oct 12, 2025

The entry of a minimum quantity of aid to besieged Gaza, the release of all Israeli captives in return for Palestinian prisoners, the return of displaced people to their home areas, and the IOF’s withdrawal to agreed-upon lines are the main points of the first phase.

Over two years after one of the most gruesome genocides in modern history began, claiming tens of thousands of lives in the besieged Gaza Strip and shaking hearts and minds across the world, a ceasefire deal was finally reached. The hope is that it will be permanent, ending the latest and intensified genocidal violence that the Palestinian people have endured.

The current ceasefire deal, which US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, October 8, finally went into effect at noon on Friday local time, according to the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).

The agreement is the third reached during Israel’s merciless, two-year-long genocidal aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza. The first ceasefire took place in November, 2023, and lasted only 6 days before being violated by Netanyahu’s government. The second was reached in January 2025, before being annihilated by the Israeli occupation two months later.

The ceasefire begins with the IOF’s withdrawal to agreed-upon deployment lines
The ceasefire officially started after the IOF completed the withdrawal of its troops to certain agreed-upon deployment lines within the besieged Gaza Strip on Friday at noon.

The timeline for releasing Israeli captives by Hamas
Now that the ceasefire has taken effect, Hamas was given a 72-hour window to release all 48 Israeli captives held in Gaza (alive or deceased). The deadline for the whole process to be completed was set for Monday, October 13, at noon.

All the 20 living captives, and some of the deceased, should be released by the timeline. However, Hamas made it clear that it will not be able to determine the location of all the 28 dead captives by the established deadline. A fact which Israel has also been familiar with.

Israeli sources reported that the Israeli government has for months been aware of the fact that Hamas does not know the whereabouts of some deceased Israeli captives because a group of them were held by other Palestinian factions in Gaza. Thus their release or retrieval may be beyond Hamas’s control.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have started to return to their home areas
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, forcibly displaced to southern Gaza, began to return to their devastated home areas in other parts of the besieged strip as soon the ceasefire went into effect on Friday at noon.

Videos went viral of a flood of Palestinian people walking towards Gaza city along the coastal road, weeks after fleeing Israel’s merciless offensive, which flattened the city into rubble.

The majority of the population is seen in the footage walking on foot for distances of about 20 kilometers, carrying shabby luggage sacks on their backs. Meanwhile, others hired donkey carts, a high-price service often unaffordable for many.

Although the IOF withdrew its troops from certain areas in the besieged strip, they informed the people of Gaza that Israeli soldiers are still deployed in other areas, warning them to avoid approaching them. The alarming message has added a level of panic to the already arduous and long return journey.

Aid to start entering Gaza under UN supervision on Sunday
Multiple international media outlets reported on Friday that Israel has finally given approval to the United Nations to begin large-scale aid deliveries to Gaza as of Sunday, October 12.

The prospective aid shipment will include 170,000 metric tons of supplies, which are already stationed in neighboring countries, including Jordan and Egypt. Humanitarian teams in charge of handling the delivery process had also been waiting for Israel’s authorization to resume their operations.

For his part, the spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Stéphane Dujarric, told reporters in New York on Friday that some essential life-saving materials have started to flow into Gaza through the Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, including fuel, medical supplies, and other critical materials.

The senior UN official further urged Israel to open more border crossings, and guarantee the safe movement of aid workers and civilians alike, especially in areas that were very recently subjected to heavy fire by the IOF during their return journey.

Israel publishes list of Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of the deal, Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office denies reaching an agreement on the list
The Israeli Ministry of Justice published on its website on Friday, a list of the Palestinian prisoners, who are allegedly intended to be freed as part of the current ceasefire deal.

The published list includes the names of 250 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment, and 1,700 other prisoners, including women and children, who were arrested from Gaza after October 7, 2023.

Nonetheless, the published list does not include the names of prominent figures in the Palestinian Prisoners’ movement, whose release Hamas has always held as a condition during every round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations. The eminent prisoners excluded from the list published by Israel are:

• Marwan Barghouti
• Ahmed Saadat
• Abdullah Barghouti
• Hassan Salama
• Abbas al-Sayed
• Ibrahim Hamed

Commenting on the list, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office issued a statement via its Telegram channel, denying that any final agreement has been reached regarding the Palestinian prisoners to be released.

“No official agreement has yet been reached regarding the lists of prisoners included in the exchange deal,” the statement reads.

“If a final agreement is reached, the official lists will be published on the Prisoners’ Media Office’s (social media) platforms,” the office added.

Reports say that Hamas is insisting on the release of the eminent prisoners, making that the most significant sticking point in current negotiations. The group has also affirmed their refusal to disarm.

Hamas Official on Gaza Ceasefire Deal: Proposed Arms Handover Out of the Question, Non-Negotiable

The ceasefire deal is a victory of Palestinian people and the masses who mobilized against Genocide, says IPA
The International Peoples’ Assembly (IPA) issued a statement on Thursday, October 9, unequivocally saluting “the unyielding resistance and resilience of the Palestinian people, who have bravely confronted unimaginable violence and devastation with steadfastness.”

“This agreement would not have been reached were it not for their strength and determination,” the IPA emphasized.

The IPA considered reaching the agreement a victory that “belongs to the Palestinian people and the masses who mobilized against Genocide, Imperialism, and Zionism.” A victory that was achieved despite Israel’s “widespread atrocities and destruction with the full support of US imperialism”.

The statement asserts that the “Zionist regime has failed in displacing the Palestinian people from their land.” The anti-imperialist assembly also called “on the people of the world to continue taking action, building pressure and mobilizing”.

“We must relentlessly work to isolate Zionism, ensuring that the terms of this agreement are fully upheld by the occupying power. This ceasefire is not an end, but a crucial juncture. We must intensify our efforts until the full demands of the Palestinian people are met, rooted in self-determination and the complete liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea.”

PYM hails Palestinians for remaining steadfast on their land after 732 days of genocide
The Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), in an Instagram post, reflected the IPA’s commendation of the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land after over two years of genocide, which in itself represents a victory:

“The streets of Gaza ring out tonight with the joyful cries of its people. While a ceasefire proposal is announced, Israel’s flagrant and repeated violations of previous agreements give us pause. Still, we find cause to celebrate. That despite the best efforts of Israel, the United States, Canada, Europe, and Arab regimes to conspire against them, 732 days of genocide later, the Palestinian people remain steadfast on their land. Gaza still rises, and with it, the people of the world rise. The joy of our people in Gaza is our joy, their relief is our relief, and their determination must also be our determination: to lift the siege, liberate all prisoners, end the occupation, and free our land. From the river to the sea.”