Tel Aviv (AFP) – “It’s so exciting and overwhelming that it’s finally happening,” says Shelly Bar Nir from Tel Aviv, as a huge crowd gathers on the coastal city’s Hostages’ Square to support the hostages’ families. Hamas has handed over the 20 surviving Israeli hostages under a ceasefire agreement, as US President Donald Trump and other world leaders gear up for a summit on Gaza.
Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) (AFP) – Upon his arrival in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, French President Emmanuel Macron confirms that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will attend the Gaza summit, saying it “sends a very positive signal” and “recognises the role of the Palestinian Authority as a legitimate body”. The summit is also attended by US President Donald Trump.
Unknown (AFP) – Lead Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya announced on October 9 that the militant group had received assurances from the United States and other mediators that its war with Israel had come to an end.
Jerusalem (AFP) – “The hardest challenge of all still remains: to bring home all the remaining hostages – 20 living hostages and 28 who were taken and killed,” says Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the hostages are due to be handed over by Hamas starting Monday evening under the terms of the new ceasefire agreement.
Khan Yunis (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – “We’re going back to our areas, full of wounds and sorrow,” says a Gazan walking with his children as hundreds of displaced return to the ruins of their homes in Khan Yunis, after the Israeli army started to pull back from several areas throughout the Palestinian Territory. “Even if we return to ruins with no life, at least it’s our land,” he adds.
Oslo (AFP) – While tearing up on an emotional phone call, Norwegian Nobel Institute Director Kristian Berg Harpviken informs Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado that she has won the Nobel Peace Prize. Stunned by the surprise call, Machado calls the award “an achievement of a whole society” adding that “I am just one person”. Machado later dedicated her prize to US President Donald Trump as Washington steps up its pressure on Maduro’s government.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – A Russian attack combining hundreds of drones and nearly three dozen missiles disrupted power supplies in nine regions of Ukraine and damaged residential buildings, killing a seven-year-old boy and wounding nine. The Kremlin has escalated aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and rail systems over recent weeks, building on earlier bombing campaigns over the previous three winters that left millions without heating in frigid temperatures.
Sulzbach-Rosenberg (Germany) (AFP) – Dozens of Bavarian police officers take part in a counter-terrorism exercise involving police and armed forces amid growing concern over drone threats across Europe. Last week, flights around Munich were halted twice after drones were detected near the airport.
Tel Aviv (AFP) – “There are no words to describe the feeling today. It’s indescribable, like spontaneous joy, excitement, tears,” says an Israeli who came to Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square to celebrate the announcement of a Gaza ceasefire deal agreed upon by Israel and Hamas, to free the remaining living hostages. In Gaza, displaced residents living in a shantytown of tents are also looking to the future following the agreement. “God willing, people will return to their normal lives… The children around us have seen things that no other children in the world have seen,” says Rami Nofal, an IDP residing in Deir al-Balah on the Gaza Strip’s coast.
Jerusalem (AFP) – “The final draft of phase one was signed this morning in Egypt by all parties to release all the hostages,” says the Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian during a briefing, referring to a 20-point peace plan for Gaza announced last month by US President Donald Trump, after more than two years of war sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel.
Dushanbe (Tajikistan) (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin admits for the first time that Russia played a role in the 2024 crash of an Azerbaijani passenger plane, describing it as a “tragedy”. In a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Tajikistan, Putin says Russia had deployed missiles to destroy Ukrainian drones on the night of the incident, and that they exploded “a few metres away” from the aircraft.
Khan Yunis (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Gazans celebrate the Hamas-Israel deal in front of the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Israel and Hamas have agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal that could free the remaining living hostages within days, in a major step toward ending a war that has killed tens of thousands and unleashed a humanitarian crisis.
