With the peace plan pushed by President Donald Trump set to be implemented over the weekend, celebrations broke out on the streets of Israel and the Palestinian territories.

In Denver, rabbis welcomed the news, even as they remained cautious, noting the hostages have yet to be released.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s security Cabinet was set to meet Thursday night to discuss the plan, according to Shosh Bedrosian, an Israeli government spokeswoman. The deal is expected to be approved, and 24 hours after its conclusion, the “first phase” of the ceasefire would take effect.

“I believe that should bring the end to this war,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday.

Once the security Cabinet has approved the plan, Israeli forces will pull back from certain areas in Gaza, maintaining control over a firm 53% of the territory.

The start of the ceasefire will also initiate a 72-hour window for Hamas to release its hostages.

Based on the timing, it appears likely the hostages will be released on Monday as long as there are no disruptions. It’s unclear what would happen if the hostages are not released in that timeframe.

“They should be released on Monday or Tuesday. Getting them is a complicated process. I’d rather not tell you what they have to do to get them,” Trump told his Cabinet secretaries at a meeting on Thursday.

Releasing the last 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, would be a massive leap of faith for Hamas. The terrorist group has held the prisoners as leverage in negotiations since Oct. 7, 2023.

“I’m equal parts happy and equal parts worried,” said Rabbi Yaakov Chaitovsky at Congregation BMH-BJ in Denver. “How can we not be cautiously elated about a conclusion of this long process? We have to give credit to the president for spearheading this effort. We always have to be cautious, but we’re certainly elated to know that the hostages are going to be coming home.”

Rabbi Sarah Shulman, the senior rabbi at Congregation HEA also in Denver, noted the families are still waiting for the return of their loved ones.

“Until every living hostage returns to the arms of their family, until every deceased hostage returns to receive a proper burial and gives their family much needed closure, we wait and hope, pray and worry,” Shulman said. “This is not the time for a victory lap yet, this is a time when we can see the light of hope, the light of reconnection, the light of peace and yet we don’t fully celebrate until everyone is home.”

Shulman added: “A weight has been lifted for the entire Jewish community and the world. We wait together for the day of return, the day of peace, the day that begins a new tomorrow.”

Others echoed that sentiment — a mixture of optimism and cautiousness, noting the Middle East is a volatile region.

“What was just locked in was a crucial first step that could actually one day yield more salubrious effects in the Middle East, but let’s not start popping the champagne yet, because this is the Middle East, it’s not the Midwest,” said Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

During previous rounds of negotiations, Hamas sought to release hostages in batches, instead of all at once, as they were its best bargaining chip. However, a crippled military and decapitated leadership structure have left the group with few options.

In preparation for the hostages’ release, Israeli hospitals are readying themselves to meet the health needs of those who have suffered ill treatment, malnutrition, or other ailments during their years of imprisonment. Such resources, and other services such as counseling, were offered to hostages released during previous temporary ceasefires.

In exchange, Israel agreed to release 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and some 1,700 people detained from Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

However, there are still conversations about who will be included in the swap.

Hamas wants to secure the release of Marwan Barghouti, one of the most prominent Palestinian prisoners, who is serving five life sentences.

The group has also sought to reclaim the bodies of Yahya Sinwar and his brother. Sinwar led Hamas in the Gaza Strip beginning in 2017 and is believed to have been the architect of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. He was killed in a violent engagement with the Israel Defense Forces in October 2024. His brother briefly took up Sinwar’s mantle before being killed in an airstrike in May 2025.

Israel has rejected requests for the Sinwar brothers’ bodies to be turned over, likely to ensure the remains are not venerated or celebrated by Hamas sympathizers.

Even if the “first phase” of the ceasefire is completed, the implementation of the subsequent stages raises a variety of questions about the future of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas has not yet agreed to completely disarm itself, one of Israel’s most crucial, nonnegotiable demands.

It’s unclear whether Hamas will choose to lay down its weapons, and if so, what that process will entail. If it doesn’t, Netanyahu has threatened to continue military operations, and Trump has signaled he would allow the IDF to “unleash hell” on the region.

“While yesterday’s agreement marks an important breakthrough, significant challenges remain. Three immediate points of tension revolve around questions of Hamas disarmament, Israeli withdrawal, and a permanent end to hostilities,” said Will Todman, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Major outstanding questions center around the disarmament of Hamas, where the agreement is quite vague with no clear indications of timelines or benchmarks, let alone exactly how disarmament will be accomplished.”

Even with these details unaddressed and the first phase yet to be implemented, Palestinian refugees have flocked en masse to return to the ravaged cities that were once their homes.

The tipping point in getting this deal across the table was Israel’s unexpected strikes targeting senior Hamas officials in Qatar last month. The IDF launched the strike on Doha without preapproval from the U.S. Trump was reportedly furious with the operation and ordered military officials to abandon it.

His intervention did not work, and the Israeli operation was a political disaster — it did not kill the intended targets, and one Qatari serviceman died in the strike.

Trump seized the opportunity to strong-arm Netanyahu into the current deal, which demands serious concessions from the Israeli side. Specifically, still-living Hamas militants would be spared if they peacefully disarm and forfeit any right to governance in the Palestinian territories.

Netanyahu, who announced at the White House that he agreed with Trump’s plan, apologized to the Qatari prime minister over the phone for killing the Qatari servicemember. He offered this apology, seated just feet from Trump, reading from a document that was prepared for him.

Trump applied similar pressure to the Hamas end of negotiations, positioning himself as the only power standing between Netanyahu and a total conquest of the Palestinian territories.

Both parties were told this agreement would be a “take it or leave it” proposal and were offered little wiggle room for negotiation.

Trump has expressed his wish for this deal to establish an “everlasting peace” in the Middle East, and he intends to travel to Israel next week for a brief series of on-the-ground meetings.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have already touched down in Israel as the security Cabinet meeting is underway.

Netanyahu recommended Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in resolving the conflict.

He has been nominated by a slew of world leaders who have credited him with diffusing tense and possibly violent conflicts on the global stage.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have all endorsed Trump for the prize. The Pakistani government has already nominated him for next year.

Netanyahu reaffirmed his support on Thursday via a social media post, urging the Nobel committee to “give (Trump) the Nobel Peace Prize — he deserves it!”

Denver Gazette reporter Mark Samuelson contributed to this report.