The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has revealed that Hamas and Israel have agreed on the first phase of his plan for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza and an exchange of captives.
Trump announced the groundbreaking development on his official Truth Social platform, saying, “I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan.”
“ALL the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their troops to an agreed-upon line,” he added.
Mediator Qatar said that more details of the agreement would be announced at a later date.
“The mediators announce that tonight an agreement was reached on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid. The details will be announced later,” Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari wrote on X.
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The announcement came hours after Trump said negotiations were going “very well” and that he may travel to the Middle East later this week.
“I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday,” he told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.
Senior officials from Qatar, Turkiye, Egypt and the US joined the delegations in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday, the third day of the talks, as the mediators pressed the two sides to resolve their differences over Trump’s 20-point proposal.
The first phase of the plan calls for a ceasefire and the release of 48 Israeli captives held in Gaza, including 20 who are believed to be alive, and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
According to Reuters, Hamas is to release the 20 living hostages together, 72 hours after the ceasefire begins, the sources said. An Israeli official said the hostages could be freed on Sunday or Monday.
