Friday morning news: October 10, 2025

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SOUND: [Gaza celebrations]

Gaza: Israel and Hamas sign agreement » Palestinians poured into the streets of Gaza City celebrating news of a historic deal to halt the war in Gaza between Israel and the Hamas terror group.

Both sides signed the phase one agreement on Thursday, and Israel’s cabinet last night voted to ratify it. That means a ceasefire is expected to begin tonight.

President Trump remarked at the White House:

TRUMP:  And I think it's gonna be a lasting peace, hopefully an everlasting peace. Peace in the Middle East. Uh, we secured the release of all of the remaining hostages and they should be released on Monday or Tuesday.

And the president plans to be there when that happens. He is expected to depart for the Middle East on Sunday, stopping in Egypt and in Israel.

The agreement calls for the release of all remaining Israeli hostages. Israel, in return, will release more than 2000 Palestinian prisoners, including militants.

Israeli forces will also begin pulling back. Spokeswoman for the Israeli prime minister Shosh Bedrosian:

BEDROSIAN:  The IDF will then redeploy to that yellow line we mentioned, which will lead to the military controlling and holding about 53% of the Gaza Strip.

Once the hostages are returned home, phase two talks will begin—focusing on a lasting end to the war—and how a post-war Gaza will take shape

Gaza: world leaders react » World leaders are also celebrating news of the deal, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

STARMER:  It is a relief to the world. Um, and I think particularly, um, of the hostages who've been held a very long time and their families, and to all the civilians in Gaza who, who've been so affected by this conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron also hailed what he called the “historic” Gaza accord.

MACRON: [Speaking French]

Both Starmer and Macron thanked President Trump and his team for their leadership, as did Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

ERDOGAN: [Speaking in Turkish]

He said he was “deeply pleased” by news of the peace agreement. And he added that Turkey—his words “will closely monitor the strict implementation of the agreement and continue to contribute to the process.”

President Trump, meantime, expressed his gratitude to world leaders in the Middle East and beyond, who threw their support behind this agreement.

TRUMP:  The whole world has come together for this. People that didn't get along, people that didn't like each other, neighboring countries that frankly didn't like each other, but now they it this, this moment in time.

American diplomats worked with officials from numerous governments in and around the Middle East to craft the agreement and push it across the finish line.

Gaza: Aid set to pour into Gaza » United Nations chief Antonio Guterres also welcomed news of the agreement. And he said humanitarian aid was ready to surge into Gaza.

GUTERRES:  We and our partners are prepared to move. Now we have the expertise, the distribution networks, the community relationships in place to act.

The UN says 170,000 metric tons of food, medicine and other aid … is on standby.

And UN officials said they were negotiating with Israel for a green light to massively ramp up help for hungry Palestinians after 2 years of war.

Humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher says in the first 60 days of the ceasefire, the United Nations would aim to increase the number of trucks with aid entering Gaza to between 500 and 600 daily.

Oregon National Guard » A federal appeals court has given President Trump a limited victory in his standoff with Oregon over the National Guard. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has the latest.

BENJAMIN EICHER: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has lifted part of a lower court order that blocked Trump from federalizing Oregon’s National Guard.

That means the Guard can be placed under federal control. But for now, the president’s ordered deployment of those troops to Portland is still on hold.

The case stems from a ruling by a federal judge who said Trump exceeded his authority by trying to deploy Guard units to the city during anti-ICE protests.

Arguments over the scope of the president’s power continued Thursday in San Francisco.

The appeals court’s temporary ruling sets up what could become another major test of presidential authority before the U.S. Supreme Court.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

Texas death row appeal » Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson has received his third stay of execution.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals paused the sentence Thursday, sending the case back to a lower court for further review.

Roberson was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, in 2002, after doctors said she showed signs of shaken baby syndrome — a form of child abuse caused by violently shaking an infant.

But his attorneys point to new medical evidence that they say indicates the girl’s injuries may have been caused by prescription drugs given days earlier to treat pneumonia.

For his part, Roberson maintains that he was wrongly convicted.

ROBESON: They just assumed that I was guilty because I couldn’t explain what happened to her.

He has now spent more than 20 years on death row. A new trial is still a possibility.

Letitia James indicted » A federal grand jury in Virginia has indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James on a charge of bank fraud.

Prosecutors allege that in 20-23, James declared a Norfolk, Virginia property as her primary residence — giving her access to favorable mortgage terms — while serving in New York.

James strongly denied any wrongdoing, calling the charge politically motivated retribution tied to her previous civil cases against former President Trump.

Democrats claim this is the latest example of the Trump administration weaponizing the Justice Department against the president’s political foes.

The Justice Department says it’s upholding the law, plain and simple.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: voices from Hostage Square. Plus, Culture Friday with John Stonestreet.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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