Praise for President Donald Trump has started to roll in after Hamas and Israel announced that they have agreed to the first phase of the peace plan to end the war in Gaza and potentially create a path to a Palestinian state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was one of the first to credit Trump for the plan’s framework that Hamas and Israeli negotiators had just reached an agreement on.

“Through steadfast resolve, powerful military action, and the great efforts of our great friend and ally President Trump, we have reached this critical turning point,” Netanyahu posted on X. “I thank President Trump for his leadership, his partnership, and his unwavering commitment to the safety of Israel and the freedom of our hostages.”

With the approval of the first phase of the plan, all our hostages will be brought home. This is a diplomatic success and a national and moral victory for the State of Israel.

From the beginning, I made it clear: we will not rest until all our hostages return and all our goals…

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 8, 2025

Former Hamas hostages and the families of hostages still trapped in Gaza hailed the agreement, which, if carried out, would see the release of the remaining 20 hostages still alive in Gaza by Monday. The hostage survivors and families expressed gratitude to Trump for shepherding the process.

Former hostages Emily Damari and Romi Gonen live on Instagram celebrating the signing of the hostage deal: “How do you explain to people how you feel at this moment? Yes!!! I’m shaking, my whole body is trembling. Wow!” https://t.co/cerELdMgfo pic.twitter.com/jPn6qxQ5Pd

— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) October 8, 2025

ALL hostages to be released very soon! https://t.co/tmNrNaQwxi pic.twitter.com/XGjfj9Wm65

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 8, 2025

An iconic photo of Trump with Secretary of State Marco Rubio has gone viral after capturing the moment that Rubio interrupted a round table to tell the president that a deal between Israel and Hamas was imminent.

If the deal goes through, this will be one of the most iconic images of Trump’s presidency. pic.twitter.com/9AG0N6YzUz

— 𝐍𝐢𝐨𝐡 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐠 ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) October 8, 2025

Network news led with the significance of the deal for Israel, Gaza, and the Middle East, if all goes according to plan. ABC News called it a “huge night” for all involved. 

“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

🔥 Alex Marlow on Trump’s victory for peace:

“This is a historic achievement. He’s taken away all of Hamas’s leverage — it’s gone. This could be the beginning of lasting peace in the region.”

Only @POTUS could deliver a deal like this — strength backed by results. A Nobel Peace… pic.twitter.com/hfLHFN0zJd

— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) October 9, 2025

Though not all network coverage struck a celebratory tone. CNN’s Jake Tapper hesitated to call the agreement a “peace deal,” arguing that it was a “ceasefire deal” at best.

“This is a ceasefire deal, right? This is not a larger peace deal about a Palestinian state of any sort,” said Tapper.

.@jaketapper‘s first reaction to President Trump’s monumental announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of his peace deal is to refuse to call it a peace deal.

Even Fake News @kaitlancollins is taken aback. pic.twitter.com/aTTVq9CdBx

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 8, 2025

Fox News’ chief political analyst Brit Hume said that the agreement that Trump fostered “seemed almost impossible.”

“It’s a very big deal indeed. Something that seemed almost impossible for so long,” said Hume. “The President will get a great deal of credit for this. It was his peace plan, I guess, that formed the basis for this agreement as far as we know.”

🚨 WATCH: Fox’s @brithume on Trump’s peace deal: “It’s a very big deal indeed. Something that seemed almost impossible for so long. The President will get a great deal of credit for this. It was his peace plan that formed the basis for this agreement as far as we know.” pic.twitter.com/fcP9X82iSi

— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) October 8, 2025

Nate Morris, a businessman and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Kentucky, said that not only should the agreement win Trump a Nobel Peace Prize, but that the award should be renamed after the president.

President Trump doesn’t just deserve the Nobel Peace Prize for getting this deal across the finish line, they should rename the damn thing after him. pic.twitter.com/65gichcb6w

— Nate Morris (@NateMorris) October 8, 2025

A deal has been reached for the first phase of an agreement to end Israel’s two-year war in Gaza, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday.

“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan,” said Trump in a post on Truth Social. “This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.”

“All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!” he added.

Negotiators for Israel and the terror group Hamas have huddled in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for days with mediators to hammer out an agreement on the first phase of the U.S.-backed framework for peace in Gaza and a pathway to a Palestinian state.

The first phase of the deal as presented by Trump last week involve a swap of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel for hostages held by the terror group Hamas. The framework presented by Trump had Hamas releasing all 48 hostages still held in Gaza, living and dead, within 72 hours in exchange for hundreds of prisoners from Israel.

Negotiations reportedly stuck on the hostage release. Only 20 hostages are believed to be alive. Of the dead, Israeli officials were concerned that Hamas may not know where all the bodies are, much less be able to retrieve them.

🚨Israeli officials believe the deal will be reached within 24-36 hours.

Hamas has provided information on the living hostages — 20 in total.

Hamas is searching for all the bodies of the dead hostages, though it’s far from guaranteed that they’ll all be found.

Israel is…

— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) October 8, 2025

Once hostages are secure, the Israeli military is expected to draw back to the “yellow line,” as the Trump plan identified it, leaving the heart of Gaza.

As the two sides have neared an agreement, diplomats converged on the sea-side city of Sharm el-Sheikh this week.

Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law and former Middle East adviser, Jared Kushner were expected to head to Egyt earlier this week. Qatar Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani was set to join negotiators in person in Egypt on Wednesday, as well as Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, according to The New York Times.