By Heidi Gantwerk
SAN DIEGO — Like so many of you, we have been anxiously holding our breath for the deal between Israel and Hamas to return all the remaining hostages home and end the war. Last night’s agreement brings us the most hope we have felt since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. We await the deal’s full implementation and pray for the return of every last hostage home – including Omri Miran, and Ziv and Gali Berman from our beloved Sha’ar HaNegev. See below for more details on the agreement.
We hope you will join us tonight for our October 7th Commemoration to celebrate this momentous news. We are nearing attendance capacity, so if you plan to attend, please register now to reserve your spot. This will also help expedite the entry process.
War in Israel: Update on Current Situation
October 9, 2025 – October 7 War, Day 734, 48 hostages remain in captivity
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
(From the traditional Hallel prayer, said on festivals, including today, Sukkot)
–Agreement reached on a permanent end to the war in Gaza
–Ceasefire in place
–All hostages to be released in the coming days
–President Trump is likely to arrive on Saturday night
–The deal comes as Israelis mark two years since the tragedies of October 7, 2023.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog:
“This is a morning of historic and momentous news. I give my full support for the agreement reached in Egypt. I express my thanks to Prime Minister Netanyahu and the negotiating team, the mediators, and all those involved in this vital effort.
“I wish to extend my deepest thanks to President Donald Trump for his incredible leadership toward securing the release of the hostages, bringing an end to the war, and creating hope for a new reality in the Middle East. There is no doubt that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for this. Should he visit us in the coming days, he will be received with immense respect, affection, and gratitude by the people of Israel.
“This agreement will bring moments of indescribable relief to the dear families who have not slept for 733 days.
“This agreement offers a chance to mend, to heal, and to open a new horizon of hope for our region. This is a time to honor the heroes among us: our sons and daughters who fought bravely to bring the hostages home; the bereaved families; the wounded in body and spirit; and all who have paid an unbearable price for this historic and vital moment.
“And they shall return from the land of the enemy… and children shall return to their own border.” With God’s help.
“Am Yisrael Chai.”
See here for Jewish Federations of North America’s statement welcoming the agreement.
Historic Agreement Reached
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a comprehensive end-of-war and hostage release deal, brokered by President Donald Trump, which is set to be signed in Egypt on Thursday afternoon.
The agreement is based on Trump’s 20-point plan. Its main architects, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will arrive in Israel from Egypt later today.
Israel’s security cabinet will meet this afternoon, followed by the full government, to vote on the prisoner release and a number of other aspects of the agreement, which are expected to easily pass.
Following the government vote at 6 pm in Israel (11 am ET) the agreement will go into effect, halting all fighting and triggering the beginning of the 72-hour period during which all hostages must be released.
In announcing the deal, President Trump wrote, “This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America; and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
The Agreement
All hostages—both living and deceased—are to be released within 72 hours of the signing. It is understood that the 20 living hostages will return home to Israel by Monday at the latest (and possibly as early as Saturday). Hamas has agreed to release the hostages without the humiliating ceremonies it held with many of the previously released Israelis.
Hamas has cautioned that it may take additional time to locate and return the 28 bodies of those hostages who are no longer alive. There is speculation that the location of eight or nine of those bodies is not currently known to Hamas.
The IDF has completed preparations at Camp Re’im near the Gaza border to receive the hostages, including hygiene infrastructure and absorption teams. Numerous hospitals will be involved in receiving them; this will be the largest number of hostages slated to be returned in a single day.
The deal also includes the full disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza, including the destruction of tunnels, weapons factories, and military infrastructure under international supervision.
In addition, the sides have agreed to the removal of Hamas from power, with guarantees it will not be part of any future governing framework. The truce also provides for the deployment of an international stabilization force, backed by the US and Arab states, to secure borders in coordination with Egypt and Jordan.
Under the agreement, Israel will maintain temporary security control of a security envelope until Gaza is declared “free of terror.” Later today, IDF forces will begin withdrawing from numerous Gazan population centers, but for now will continue to hold about half of the territory..
The deal will also include the release of approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences (mainly for murdering Israelis) and at least 1,700 who were detained since October 7, among them women and minors. Israeli officials have indicated that the deal does not include members of Hamas’s Nukhba Force who took part in the October 7, 2023, massacre, nor the most prominent commanders described as “symbols of terrorist organizations,” such as Marwan Barghouti.
Palestinian bodies will be returned at a ratio of 15:1 for each deceased hostage being held by Hamas.
There will also be an amnesty for Hamas fighters who lay down arms or can be given safe passage to third countries.
As soon as the deal begins, there will be immediate and large humanitarian aid efforts for Gaza, including the restoration of water, electricity, hospital support, and a US- and UN-backed economic development plan.
Under the agreement, a Palestinian “technocratic” government will be formed, sidelining both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. This will avoid a power vacuum in Gaza.
Further details about the agreement here.
Stay up to date with today’s full developments and review past updates below.
We hope you find these resources helpful as you navigate these difficult times.
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Heidi Gantwerk is president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of San Diego.
Heidi Gantwerk is president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of San Diego.
The fantasy of a ‘deradicalized’ Gaza
For more than a century, Palestinian society in Gaza has been taught that its national purpose is not to build a homeland for itself but to destroy the Jewish one: Israel. This is not a fringe belief. It is the cultural consensus. The idea is not debated in Gaza; it is the unifying principle of all politics, culture and religion. Every Palestinian classroom, mosque, media outlet and public institution reinforces the same message: Israel must disappear, and killing Jews is the means to that end.
This ideology did not begin with Hamas. The terrorist group merely weaponized what Palestinian culture had already been preaching for generations. From the Palestinian Authority to schools run by the U.N. Relief Works for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), children have been raised to see “liberation” as synonymous with annihilation. The Palestinians’ very identity, the essence of their “national aspiration,” is built around that genocidal goal.
To claim that Gaza can become “deradicalized” without a complete cultural revolution is to mistake a slogan for a strategy.
Deradicalization is not a construction project. It cannot be achieved with Western consultants, foreign funding or a new school curriculum designed in Brussels. You cannot undo five generations of hate with a 10-year rebuilding plan. You cannot reverse generational genocidal ideology in a few months of reconstruction or a few years of “international supervision.”