Israel cabinet to vote Thursday; hostages could start being freed Monday, White House says

A senior White House official said the latest agreement aimed at securing a pause in fighting and the release of hostages will be presented to the Israeli cabinet on Thursday.

• If approved, Israel will begin withdrawing its forces to a designated line, a process expected to take less than 24 hours.
• That pullback would trigger the start of a 72-hour ceasefire period, during which Hamas is expected to begin releasing hostages.

According to the U.S. assessment, hostage releases could start as early as Monday, though Hamas may attempt to move sooner once the initial conditions are met. The timeline hinges on Israel’s rapid implementation of the withdrawal once the cabinet vote passes.

The official said Washington remains closely engaged with both sides to ensure the sequence proceeds smoothly — first the Israeli approval and repositioning, then the formal commencement of the 72-hour clock, followed by the initial hostage handovers.

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Impacts on markets to eye:

• Oil: Potential ceasefire could briefly ease geopolitical risk premiums in energy markets.

• FX: Reduced regional tensions may temper safe-haven demand.

• Gold: Any sign of durable truce could weigh modestly on short-term haven flows.

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Earlier:

• Trump says Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan

• Fox: “Hamas accepts Trump peace plan ending 2 years of war in Gaza, returning hostages”

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.