We’re standing at the edge of what could be a truly historic breakthrough — the release of the hostages and the end of the war in Gaza.
In a moment that captured the gravity of the situation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio quietly slipped a note to President Donald Trump during his roundtable with independent reporters on Antifa. You could feel the weight of it — the kind of moment that ends up in history books, when real leadership and diplomacy happen behind the scenes instead of in front of cameras:
? @POTUS: "I was just given a note by the Secretary of State saying that we're very close to a deal in the Middle East." pic.twitter.com/EGn45SgLfm
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 8, 2025
Shortly after, President Trump took to Truth Social to announce that an agreement had been reached on the “first phase” of the plan — securing the release of the hostages.
Of course, when dealing with Hamas, nothing is ever straightforward. You always have to add the caveat, because history shows they’ll find a way to sabotage any deal or ceasefire the moment it doesn’t serve their interests. Still, it’s a major step forward — and one that only happened because there’s finally an administration willing to project strength instead of weakness.
Trump joined Fox News’ Sean Hannity to provide more details:
.@POTUS on his historic Gaza Peace Deal: "It has really been an amazing period of time — and so great for Israel, so great for Muslims, for the Arab countries, and so great for this country… in that we could be involved in making a deal like this happen." pic.twitter.com/RK67cnJFOj
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 9, 2025
Trump believes that the hostages will be released by Monday:
.@POTUS: "The hostages are going to be released — our time would be probably Monday… We think they'll all be coming back on Monday, and that'll include the bodies of the dead." pic.twitter.com/DUx8ceUF90
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 9, 2025
Israeli sources have said the release is this weekend:
Two sources familiar with the negotiations earlier told The Times of Israel that Hamas would release all the remaining living hostages on Saturday. Twenty of the remaining 48 hostages are believed to be alive. All slain hostages that Hamas is able to locate are also to be released.
It’s a difference of timing, really — what we’re seeing now is agreement on the core principle of releasing the hostages, even as the finer details are still being hammered out. That’s what President Trump was referring to as the talks continued to evolve in real time.
The key takeaway is that the major hurdles appear to be cleared. Even Hamas is publicly admitting a deal has been reached — which tells you just how far along this process is:
The deal will be formally signed on Thursday in Egypt, the sources said, adding that the biggest issues in the Gaza talks have been resolved and what remains to be finalized is merely procedural.
Trump is set to head to the region this weekend. Invited by Netanyahu to address the Knesset, in a phone call they held some two hours after he announced the deal, the president indicated he would do so.
Even the liberal media — the same outlets that have spent years sneering at Trump — are now grudgingly admitting he may have actually pulled it off. Some are even suggesting he’s achieved what no one else could:
ABC Chief Foreign Correspondent Ian Pannell: "Make no mistake: it looks like President Trump has actually pulled off something here that many presidents before him have failed to do." pic.twitter.com/GCn1nDiqQ7
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 9, 2025
"Make no mistake: this is a huge night," says ABC News on President Trump's Gaza Peace Deal.
"For the people of Gaza, this is going to be an enormous relief. For the people of Israel, potentially the end of a two-year-long nightmare." pic.twitter.com/B8ooTzBBz1
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 8, 2025
Trump even got an amazing acknowledgment from NBC’s left-wing hack Yamiche Alcindor:
"This is a major accomplishment for President Trump… Of course, not just a victory for President Trump, but really a number of Arab nations," says NBC's Yamiche Alcindor on President Trump's Gaza Peace Deal.
"This is really huge news." pic.twitter.com/KpukyEbXFs
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 8, 2025
Even Brett McGurk, a national security official who served under the Biden administration, couldn’t hide how significant the moment was. He reportedly called it “momentous” and admitted he was trying to hold it together because of how incredible it felt:
CNN Global Affairs Analyst Brett McGurk: "A momentous day… this is GREAT NEWS. I am trying to hold it together, honestly. I've worked on this issue a very long time." pic.twitter.com/MVuu5VOlMd
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 9, 2025
So while keeping fingers crossed that this all goes through, at least as of now, it looks like a deal is done. And Trump’s team got it done.
