The peace agreement was confirmed by both parties and by Qatar, one of the mediators in the conflict.
MIAMI, United States. – Donald Trump announced this Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement on the first phase of the peace plan for Gaza promoted by the president himself, which contemplates the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and an Israeli military withdrawal towards an agreed line.
The announcement was made by Trump himself, but was confirmed by both parties and by Qatar, one of the mediators, according to the Spanish newspaper The Country. “I am proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have signed the first phase of our Peace Plan,” Trump published on his social network, Truth. “This means that all the hostages will be released very soon and Israel will withdraw its troops to an agreed line as a first step towards a solid, permanent and lasting peace. All parties will be treated fairly!”
According to The Countrythe understanding includes “all provisions and implementation mechanisms” for the exchange of 48 Israeli hostages—“most of them lifeless”—for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. In his message, Trump called the day “a GREAT day for the Arab and Muslim world, Israel, all neighboring nations and the United States,” and thanked “the mediators from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement from a line about the captives who would be handed over in this phase: “With God’s help, we will bring everyone back home.”
The release of hostages could occur “on Saturday or Sunday,” according to an Israeli source quoted by CNN. The network also reported that Israel and Hamas “have already exchanged a list of hostages and prisoners who will be released as part of an agreement.”
For its part, the Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons in Israel welcomed the news with “emotion, anticipation and concern.” In a statement, he stated that the living hostages “will be reunited and rehabilitated with their families, while those who have died will be buried.” And he stressed: “This marks an important and significant step to bring everyone back, but our fight is not over and will not end until the last hostage returns home.”
Hours before the pact was confirmed, Trump told reporters that he was considering traveling to the Middle East given the imminence of an agreement. Subsequently, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that the president is expected to travel to Egypt on Friday.
The Secretary of State, Marco Rubiocanceled a planned trip to Paris “apparently in response to news of progress” in Egypt, according to The Country.
At a roundtable discussion about Antifa in the United States, Rubio stood up to hand a paper to the president. After reading it, Trump talked about a possible trip, and thanks to An enlarged photograph taken by an AP photographerit was learned that the paper said “Very close,” underlined twice, and added: “We need you to approve a message on Truth Social soon, so you can be the one to announce the ceasefire.”
Although Trump’s message mentions the release of hostages and the Israeli withdrawal from certain areas, it “does not mention other thorny issues” that will remain under negotiation, such as the disarmament of Hamas or the future governance of Gaza, according to CNN. Trump himself described the announcement as the “first step toward a Strong, Lasting and Eternal Peace.”
The agreement comes after negotiations held this week in Egypt to end the invasion launched after the Hamas attack, which turned two years old this Tuesday.
