A Gaza Deal

The longest and deadliest war in the century-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict may be about to end. Israel and Hamas said they had agreed to the first phase of President Trump’s cease-fire plan: All Israeli hostages will be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, Israeli troops will pull back, and humanitarian aid will enter Gaza.

The breakthrough, which Trump announced on social media last night, came two years and a day after the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel that sparked the assault on Gaza. It was the middle of the night in the Middle East, but Israelis and Palestinians stayed glued to the news and reacted with intense emotion. “That’s it, it’s over!” the mother of one of the hostages said on Israeli TV as family members cheered in the background. In Gaza, an English teacher said he felt “joy for the end of the war and the killing, and sorrow for everything we’ve lost.”

Details of the deal remain unclear, but an exchange of hostages and prisoners was expected this weekend. (Israel believes 20 remain alive. The bodies of about 26 others will be released in stages.) Trump’s plan calls for the release in exchange of 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 Gazans who have been detained during the war.

Trump is also expected to arrive in Israel on Sunday, according to officials there.

The toll

The war that began with the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust — 1,200 were killed and 250 kidnapped by Hamas fighters who broke through the fence from Gaza — has displaced nearly all of Gaza’s two million residents and destroyed most of its buildings. Israeli bombs and bullets killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, nearly a third of them under 18 years old; the United Nations estimates that 500,000 are at risk of starvation.

Israel has meanwhile scored major military victories against its other enemies in the region: Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. But it has become isolated — accused of genocide in the International Criminal Court and subjected to academic, cultural and economic boycotts. Antisemitic harassment and violence have spiked around the world.

Hamas has lost its military and political leadership and most of its arsenal. Trump’s plan calls for its disarmament and departure from Gaza. Overnight statements about the agreement from Hamas, Israel, Trump and Qatar did not mention the militant group’s weapons. Israel’s statement also did not say anything about withdrawing its troops from Gaza.

Our reporters on the ground in Israel, Gaza, Egypt, Washington and around the world are providing live updates as events unfold. Here are the details of Trump’s 20-point plan.

Breakthrough

“A great day.” Trump’s Truth Social post announcing the deal heralded a “Historic and Unprecedented Event.” Benjamin Netanyahu called it “a great day for Israel” and said he would convene his government today to sign off on the deal. Hamas called on Trump and others to ensure that Israel fully implements the agreement and not to “allow it to evade or delay.”

Who’s at the table. The talks began Monday, a week after Trump unveiled his plan alongside Netanyahu at the White House. They are taking place in Sharm-el-Sheikh, a coastal resort town in Egypt that has been the site of numerous peace conferences and Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. On Wednesday, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, joined Netanyahu’s top aide, Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence chief at the table.

Hostage families. The main group representing the families of hostages said the agreement provoked “a mix of excitement, anticipation, and concern.” It expressed “profound gratitude” to Trump and warned the Israeli government that “any delay could exact a heavy toll.”

More on the deal

• The documents Hamas and Israel are signing haven’t been made public. Read what we know and don’t know about the deal.

• The Israeli military said it was preparing to lead the operation for the hostages’ return.

• For Trump, success in brokering a cease-fire is the ultimate test of his self-image as a deal maker and a peacemaker, David Sanger writes.

Reactions

• People in both Israel and Gaza celebrated this morning. Still, some expressed skepticism. “I also worry that there will be another installment of the war,” one Palestinian said.

• Crowds swelled on the Tel Aviv plaza known as Hostages Square as news of the deal spread.

• World leaders expressed support. Britain’s Keir Starmer described the deal as “a moment of profound relief.” Canada’s Mark Carney said, “After years of intense suffering, peace finally feels attainable.”

THE LATEST NEWS

Trump’s Deployments

• Around 1,000 anti-Trump protesters marched peacefully in downtown Chicago last night, as the first Texas National Guard soldiers prepared to deploy near the city.

• Trump’s deployment of Texas troops to Illinois has driven a wedge between governors.

• Trump suggested that the governor of Illinois and the mayor of Chicago should be jailed for failing to protect ICE officers.

• Federal officers called protests in Portland, Ore., “low energy” in the week before Trump tried to send troops there, internal reports show.

• See how Portland is responding to the deployment by clicking the video below.

Government Shutdown

• The Senate failed again to advance either of the dueling plans to end the government shutdown. Things got heated.

• The I.R.S. furloughed roughly half of its staff yesterday. Labor union leaders urged Congress and Trump to reach a deal and ensure that federal workers don’t miss a paycheck.

• Democrats have focused their shutdown fight on restoring funding for health care. Polls show the issue doesn’t have the clout with voters that it once did, Nate Cohn writes.

More Politics

• James Comey, the former F.B.I. director targeted by Trump, pleaded not guilty to charges that he lied to Congress.

• The Supreme Court appeared open to arguments that political candidates should be able to challenge their states’ election laws.

• Tom Homan, the border czar, may not have to return the $50,000 that undercover F.B.I. agents are said to have handed him in a sting operation.

Latin America

• The right-wing mayor of Lima, Peru, held a Charlie Kirk memorial — filled with attendees bused in from poor neighborhoods — as he sought help from the Trump administration.

• Senate Republicans blocked a measure that would have barred Trump from using military force against boats in the Caribbean.

• Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, said one of the boats that the U.S. recently bombed had carried Colombian citizens.

• Though Trump speaks of destroying drug cartels in the Caribbean, most cocaine smuggled to the U.S. moves through the Pacific. See a map.

Other Big Stories

• Laszlo Krasznahorkai, a Hungarian novelist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

• Oakland, Calif., is overrun by trash, with makeshift landfills choking sidewalks and sullying schoolyards. Officials are trying to figure out why — and how to fix it.

• Officials in Los Angeles charged a man with intentionally starting a blaze that led to the devastating Pacific Palisades wildfire. They said the suspect, an Uber driver, appeared to be obsessed with fire imagery.

• The perpetrator of an attack on a synagogue last week in Manchester, England, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, the police said.

• A practice known as “bluetoothing” — in which people inject themselves with blood from a drug user to get a cheap high — has helped to fuel an H.I.V. epidemic in Fiji.

• Recipients of this year’s MacArthur “genius grants” include a scientist who studies tropical weather, a seventh-generation basket maker and the author Tommy Orange.

THE RACE OF GENTLEMEN

For one weekend each year, a strip of the Jersey Shore travels back in time. Vintage hot rods and classic motorcycles drag race on the sands of Wildwood, N.J. The air fills with the rumble of old engines and the scent of salt and oil. This is the Race of Gentlemen.

Competitors come from across the U.S. and Canada in custom-stitched sweaters and period-appropriate gear. It’s not just about winning: One 1932 Ford in the competition doesn’t even have a speedometer. For those who attend, the appeal is simple. “It’s like you go over the bridge,” one said, “and you’re in 1955.”

W.N.B.A.: A heroic last-minute shot from A’ja Wilson powered the Las Vegas Aces to a 3-0 series lead over the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA Final.

IT’S NOT MEAT

Lawmakers in the European Parliament have voted to ban the veggie burger — not the menu item, just the name. Under a new measure, terms like “burger” or “steak” would be reserved for meat products. (Other branches of the E.U. government would need to weigh in for it to become law.)

The vote is meant to help Europe’s agricultural industry. It followed a push by the powerful agricultural lobby. Meat consumption in the E.U. has been drifting downward in recent years, while production of plant-based alternatives is growing.

Some leaders welcome the proposal: Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, declared this week that “sausage is not vegan.” But others were less enthusiastic. “With everything else going on in the world,” said Anna Strolenberg, a European lawmaker from the Netherlands, “you would think the European Parliament would have better things to do.”