Significant progress has been made after three days of Gaza ceasefire talks in Egypt, sources have told Sky News. A message passed to Donald Trump in front of reporters also said a deal was “very close”. Follow the latest below and listen to The World podcast as you scroll.
Wednesday 8 October 2025 23:18, UK
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Donald Trump has ended a Q&A with reporters at the White House after being handed a note by US secretary of state Marco Rubio.
Trump nodded as he read the handwritten message, before Rubio then whispered something in his ear – to which the president replied: “OK”.
Trump then told reporters: “I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they’re going to need me pretty quickly”.
The note appeared to suggest that a deal was “very close” – with those two words underlined – and also asked for the US president to approve a post on his Truth Social website “soon so you can announce deal first”.
Its contents were revealed in images captured by Sky News at the event.
Russia’s foreign minister has given his reaction to Donald Trump’s peace efforts in the Middle East.
Sergei Lavrov said it may be general in approach, but the proposal remains the best “on the table” for now.
“US President Donald Trump proposed his 20 points which contain the word ‘statehood’,” he told television channel Russia Today.
“But this is all drafted in quite general terms.
“In this context, at issue is only what will remain of the Gaza Strip. There is no reference to the West Bank, but we are realists.”
Lavrov said the plan was “the best option in terms of Arab acceptability and ‘non-rejection’ by Israel, which is how I would characterise Benjamin Netanyahu’s position”.
Russia has been critical of Israel’s military operations in Gaza over the last two years, with Moscow deepening relations with Iran.
As sources familiar with the talks taking place in Egypt have told Sky News a deal could be signed in the next 24 to 36 hours, a sticking point remains over the final list of Palestinian prisoners to be released.
“The first element of this deal to end the war in Gaza is already here,” Israeli journalist Nadav Eyal said on The World with Yalda Hakim.
“They’re going to work through the night and they’re going to work all the way to tomorrow morning,” he said.
The sequence laid out by Donald Trump’s plan foresees that, once Hamas releases all 48 hostages, Israel will release 250 Palestinians serving life sentences and 1,700 Gazans who were detained since the October 7 attacks, including all women and children.
The release may also include some of the many prominent Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Here’s a rundown of the most notable figures:
Marwan al Barghoui, Fatah
Barghouti is a leading member of the Fatah movement that controls the Palestinian Authority and is considered a possible successor to its president, Mahmoud Abbas.
He is a veteran of the Palestinian resistance movement: he was an organiser in both Palestinian Intifadas, or uprisings, since 1987. According to Fatah officials, he set up the group’s armed wing, on the orders of the first PA president, Yasser Arafat.
Barghouti was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to five life terms in 2004 over links to gun ambushes and suicide bombings.
Ahmed Saadat, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Saadat is the leader of the PFLP and has been linked to the high-profile murder of Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi in 2001.
He was sheltered by Arafat in Ramallah and later imprisoned at a PA jail under international supervision. However, Israel seized Saadat in 2006.
There was not enough evidence to charge him with Zeevi’s murder, but he was sentenced to 30 years in jail over other accusations.
Abdallah al Barghouti, Hamas
Kuwaiti-born Barghouti was involved in a series of suicide attacks in 2001 and 2002 that killed dozens of Israelis.
He was found to have the explosive belts used in the attacks, including one on a Jerusalem Sbarro restaurant in which 15 people were killed.
He was sentenced to 67 life terms in 2004.
Ibrahim Hamed, Hamas
Hamed was the top West Bank commander of al Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, and was on Israel’s wanted list for eight years before being arrested in 2006.
He was accused of planning suicide attacks that killed dozens of Israelis. He is serving 54 life sentences.
Hassan Salama, Hamas
Born in Gaza’s Khan Younis refugee camp in the 1970s, Salama was sentenced to 48 life sentences for orchestrating a series of suicide bombings that hit Israel in 1996. Dozens of Israelis were killed and hundreds wounded.
Salama, who said the attacks were a response to the assassination of a Hamas bombmaker, was arrested later that year.
Mediators must ensure the latter stages of Donald Trump’s peace plan are implemented, a former adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organisation has warned.
Speaking on The World with Yalda Hakim, Xavier Abu Eid called on third parties to ensure there is a “meaningful” peace process that comes from Trump’s plan.
“The priority here should be for the attacks to end, for the killings to end, and that’s why many people are hopeful that something will come out in the next hours,” he said.
“There is a difference between setting the principle for a ceasefire deal and going into a comprehensive and meaningful peace process.”
Watch the full interview below.
Donald Trump says he may visit the Gaza Strip in the coming days.
A reporter asked the US president just now if he would consider going to the territory during his mooted trip to the Middle East this weekend (see 20.36 post).
He replied: “I may do that, we haven’t decided exactly.
“I’ll be going to Egypt most likely, where everyone is gathered right now.
“I’ll be making the rounds, as the expression goes, I probably will.”
A Trump visit to war-devastated Gaza would be significant, although such a visit would not be unprecedented.
Bill Clinton visited the territory in 1998 when he was US president, meeting the then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Rafah.
Trump also visited Bethlehem in the West Bank during his first term as president in 2017.
South African activists that were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla have claimed they were mistreated after being detained by Israeli forces while attempting to deliver aid to Gaza.
Nelson Mandela’s grandson and pro-Palestinian activist Mandla Mendela was among those being welcomed back to South Africa, and he said “we were subjected to all forms of brutality” from the Israeli authorities.
He claimed their ordeal was politically motivated after South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
“We were kidnapped on international waters. Palestinians are attacked, maimed and killed,” Mandela said.
Alongside Mandela were other activists who were also on board the vessel transporting aid to Gaza, the two women said they were exposed to ill treatment by Israel military.
The accusations of mistreatment have been rejected by Israeli authorities, while the country’s government also denied claims its offensive in Gaza is a genocide.
It comes after another Gaza-bound flotilla was intercepted by Israel overnight – see our 8.49 post for more details.
A former Israeli prime minister has described Donald Trump’s Gaza plan as a “great opportunity” for his country.
“The Trump plan is very good news for Israel,” Ehud Barak told Sky News’ The World with Yalda Hakim.
He predicted that the first four points of the proposal would “almost probably” be completed in the next 36 hours, including an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages.
However, Barak said the other 16 points could “create some problems”.
“For Israel, it’s a great opportunity, something that we’ve waited for for a long time,” he added.
“Many Israelis argue that it could have been achieved many months ago, but it’s a result of the determination of Trump to get it done.”
Watch the full interview below.
By Mark Stone, US correspondent
President Trump has confirmed that he may travel to the Middle East at the weekend. It represents the clearest indication yet of positive progress in the Gaza talks taking place in Egypt.
The president is owning the momentum and the moment. He sees this, with good reason, as being his deal. His prize would be the image of him alongside the released hostages at home in Israel.
The Hamas commitment to releasing all of the hostages in one go has been the key to keeping Trump engaged in the negotiation process.
Sources have told me that this Hamas commitment locked the president into putting pressure on Israel to be prepared to compromise on previous red lines.
Kushner taking the lead
The final deal, being negotiated in Sharm el-Sheikh, is believed to be very close, though the details are not known.
We do not know the extent to which Hamas has agreed to disarm (just heavy weapons or small arms too?), the extent to which Israel has agreed to pull out of Gaza (Hamas wants them out entirely), or the extent to which agreement has been made on the names of Palestinian prisoners to be released from Israeli jails.
Then there is the issue of who runs Gaza in the future.
A source who is acting as a conduit between Hamas and the Americans has told me that Hamas wanted assurances that Palestinians would be running Gaza in “the day after”.
But the source advised them not to object, in the short term, to an international board which would be focused primarily on funding for reconstruction.
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has been a key figure in negotiations, but according to my sources, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is now believed to be taking the lead in the talks.
I am also told they had been given approval by Trump to hold direct talks with Hamas if it was deemed necessary. It’s not known if those direct talks have taken place.
Israel’s president has thanked Donald Trump for putting forward a “comprehensive plan” for ending the war in Gaza.
Isaac Herzog said Trump’s 20-point peace plan offers “a horizon of hope for peace in this region”.
Speaking at the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, he added “it is in these fateful moments that the choice must be made”.
“In favour of partnership and cooperation,” he said.
“In favour of moderation and humanity. In favour of peace and harmony between nations and between people.”
The Nobel Peace Prize is helping to create “pressure and momentum” for Gaza peace talks, a former US State Department senior policy adviser has said.
Speaking to our chief presenter Mark Austin, Laura Blumenfeld said: “This is the Trump show and he’s aiming for that gold-plated coin”.
“The peace prize deadline is Friday and I think that’s creating lots of pressure and momentum,” she added.
“Trump wants the peace prize and all eyes are on what Trump wants at this point.”
Watch the full interview below.
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