The potential peace deal being sought between Israel and Hamas consists of five key steps that must be carried out consecutively.
Step One: Ratification
The first step is for the peace deal to be ratified by Israel’s security cabinet.
This step was completed late Thursday evening:
The government has just now approved the framework for the release of all of the hostages – the living and the deceased.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 9, 2025
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) now have 24 hours to begin withdrawing from some parts of Gaza.
“The Israeli military is expected to keep control of about 50% of Gaza under the first phase, setting the stage for the hostage exchange deal,” according to the New York Post.
“The deal also states that an immediate wave of aid would be allowed to enter the Gaza Strip, with the UN and humanitarian groups stating Thursday that they’re ready to provide whatever is necessary as soon as possible,” the Post’s report continues.
Step Two: Hostage Release
Once the deal has been ratified and the IDF has withdrawn from roughly 50 percent of Gaza, Hamas will be given 72 hours to release all 48 remaining hostages, only 20 of whom may still be alive.
Complicating matters is the fact that some of the hostages are dead and Hamas doesn’t know where their bodies might be buried.
Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum is nevertheless demanding the return of EVERY hostage, dead or alive.
“Israel must not accept or normalize any possibility of abandoning its dead,” the Forum told CNN. “The people of Israel won’t rest or give up any man or woman. Our national and moral duty is to ensure the return of the last hostage – the emerging agreement must reflect that and condition any process by this term.”
Step Three: Palestinian Prisoner Release
Once the hostages held by Hamas have been released, it will be contingent on Israel to release the nearly 2,000 Palestinians it’s holding captive, including roughly 250 who are serving life sentences.
The complication this time is that Israel refuses to free either members of Hamas’ elite Nukhba military unit who took part in the Oct. 7 terror attack, nor top Hamas officials like Marwan Barghouti, who’s currently serving five life sentences for killing five children.
“Hamas wants to walk away with something it can hold up as a victory – something they can point to tell their people that all this war and devastation achieved something,” outspoken Jewish advocate Aviva Klompas told the Post.
“That’s why they’re fixated on freeing the most notorious terrorists responsible for murdering large numbers of Israelis. It speaks volumes that their top priority isn’t rebuilding Gaza or helping Palestinian civilians, but securing the release of unrepentant killers.”
Step Four: Hamas Disarmament
Once Israel and Hamas both have their people back, Hamas must relinquish its weapons and governance. This is expected to be the most difficult step because of Hamas’s craving for power.
“After the hostages are released, I imagine there will be friction over the next phase of the president’s plan, which calls for disarming Hamas and installing new leadership,” Klompas said. “Those are steps Hamas fears and will resist.”
But their resistance could unravel the very peace deal.
“Trump and Israel have made it clear that the Gaza Strip cannot continue to operate with Hamas as its de facto ruler, nor can the Jewish state live in safety if the terror group maintains its weapons,” the Post notes.
“Hamas, however, has only agreed to partially disarm, with the group contending that it will only give up its weapons if a Palestinian state is secured, a term not laid out in the peace deal and one that Israel has repeatedly rejected,” its reporting continues.
Scott Feltman, an Israeli security analyst and the executive vice president of the One Israel Fund non-profit, warned that Hamas is going to try to play hardball on this one.
“Everybody believes Hamas is going to do anything and everything in their power to stay in power, and this deal that the president and the prime minister worked out basically ensures that Hamas will not stay in power,” he said. “Hamas is going to pull every card and every string, and I believe they’re going to string this along.”
But Feltman is equally confident that President Donald Trump can rein them in.
“I think that Hamas is a little bit more spooked this time, because the president has been adamant that this deal must go through,” he said. “And I don’t think he’s playing games when he says if it doesn’t, that he will give Israel carte blanche and probably the weaponry as well to finish the job and finish Hamas.”
Step Five: Permanent Peace
If all goes as planned, the IDF will completely withdraw from Gaza as “international bodies” rush to reconstruct the demolished city.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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