Israel and Hamas agree to first phase of Gaza peace plan

Good morning and welcome back. In today’s newsletter:

• Israel and Hamas agree to first phase of Trump plan

• First Brands creditor claims $2.3bn ‘simply vanished’

• What is antifa?

• And New York’s most flamboyant hotel

We begin in the Middle East, where Israel and Hamas have agreed a deal to release all the remaining hostages held in Gaza as part of the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the devastating two-year war in the Strip. Here’s what’s happened while you were asleep.

What is happening? Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called today “a great day” for Israel, is preparing to convene a meeting of his war cabinet before putting the hostage release agreement to the full cabinet for its approval. Under the terms of Trump’s plan, Israel would release almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 48 hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. The hostage release will allow for a surge of aid into the besieged strip. Israel would also pull its troops back from front lines in Gaza to positions agreed by Hamas.

Hours after the agreement was reached, Trump said he was prepared to travel to the Middle East as early as this weekend to push both sides to accept his plan. Some reports suggest he may even address the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, on Monday.

Challenges ahead: Significant challenges remain in getting the parties to agree details of the next phase of Trump’s 20-point plan. Hamas said in a statement it had agreed to the first phase of the deal, while calling on Trump and Arab and Muslim states to compel Israel to “fully implement” the plan. While the militant group has previously said it was willing to release the hostages, it has not said it would agree to disarm, which is one of the most contentious issues. It also wants to negotiate details of Israel’s troop withdrawal and the role of the international stabilisation force, a person briefed on the talks said.

Netanyahu could also face resistance to elements of the plan from far-right members of his governing coalition who have criticised parts of the peace deal. Under the US plan, Gaza would be governed by a committee of Palestinian technocrats, overseen by an international supervisory body led by Trump and former British prime minister Tony Blair. Read more on what has been agreed so far.

• Live blog: Keep up to date with the latest developments from the Middle East here.

• Go deeper: What chance for Trump’s Gaza peace plan? Gideon Rachman talks to former White House official and Middle East expert Philip Gordon.

Here’s what else we’re watching today:

• Results: Delta Air Lines, Levi Strauss, PepsiCo and Volution Group report earnings.

• Central banks: Fed chair Jay Powell will give the welcome remarks in a pre-recorded video to a conference hosted by the central bank. Mexico’s central bank releases minutes from its most recent monetary policy meeting.

• Nobel Prize: The award for Literature will be announced by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm.

Can the global economy withstand new shocks? Take part in a live Ask an Expert Q&A with the Financial Times’ Tej Parikh and Martin Sandbu today at 1pm BST. Submit your questions here.

Five more top stories

1. One of First Brands’ largest creditors has alleged that as much as $2.3bn in assets “simply vanished” before the bankrupt auto supplier failed. Raistone, a technology group that helped arrange a significant portion of First Brands’ off-balance sheet financing with investors, called for the appointment of an outside examiner to lead an investigation. Read the full story.

2. US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent grilled contenders to lead the Federal Reserve about their stance on interest rates and the unwinding of crisis-era stimulus, as the Trump administration seeks to replace chair Jay Powell. Find out who went through the first round of interviews.

3. Nato allies are discussing wider countermeasures to Vladimir Putin’s hybrid war, including deploying armed drones along the border with Russia and easing restrictions on pilots to allow them to open fire on Russian aircraft. Henry Foy has more from Brussels.

4. HSBC has proposed a $13.6bn transaction to delist Hang Seng Bank. The lender’s offer to take its local Hong Kong unit fully private comes as Europe’s largest bank presses ahead with its restructuring plan. Read more on the details of the proposed deal.

5. China has unveiled sweeping new export controls on rare earths and related technologies, as Beijing seeks to protect its dominant position in critical minerals. The restrictions will for the first time create a Chinese version of the US foreign direct product rule. Read details of the new rules.

The Big Read

The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos has been a magnet for heads of government, tech titans and cultural figures, shaping global capitalism’s agenda for decades. But an internal scandal involving its founder has battered the Swiss organisation. Can the WEF survive?

We’re also reading . . . 

• Trump and the Nobel Peace Prize: Nobody has campaigned for the prize quite like Donald Trump. Richard Milne in Oslo reports on the lobbying ahead of Friday’s announcement.

• The flawed AI consensus: AGI is not going to be an instant, miraculous blessing, writes John Thornhill.

• Work visas: The US is making the immigration of skilled workers more expensive; the UK is exploring ways to make it cheaper. Who is right, asks Tim Harford.

• Antifa: FT reporters explain what the anti-fascist movement is that Donald Trump has proscribed as a terrorist organisation.

Chart of the day

Across Japan, Sanae Takaichi’s victory in the ruling LDP leadership election was viewed as long overdue in a country placed 118th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index. The lack of political representation — there are only two women in the current cabinet — is a heavy drag on that ranking. Her appointment is seen as a big step towards ending the discrimination that has held millions back.

Take a break from the news . . . 

New York’s High Line has become a live wire for transmitting hyper-gentrification. The strange landscape of brutally expensive apartment buildings, punctuated by a growing canyon of new starchitect-designed towers has just been intensified by the opening of the Faena New York. Edwin Heathcote visits New York’s most flamboyant hotel.