Israel and Hamas have agreed to release all the hostages held by Palestinian radical groups in the Gaza Strip, marking a major breakthrough in the negotiations brokered by the United States and Qatar to end the two-year war between the two sides.
Trump posted on social media on Wednesday: “I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have signed the first phase of our peace plan.” This means that all the hostages will be released soon and Israel will withdraw its troops to the border line agreed upon by both sides. This is the first step towards a strong, lasting and permanent peace.
Israel, Hamas and Qatar subsequently all confirmed that they had reached an agreement on the release of hostages.
According to the agreement, it is expected that Hamas will release the remains of about 20 people who were captured in the October 2023 attacks and are still alive, as well as those of more than 20 detainees who died. Israel will release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as its troops withdraw and resume aid to Gaza at the same time.
Trump told Fox News in an interview that he expected the hostages “possibly” to be released on Monday.
If the agreement is maintained, it will mark an important step towards ending the conflict. This conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel and has plunged the Middle East into crisis. For Trump, this will be a major diplomatic victory. He proposed a 20-point plan last week aimed at ending the conflict and seems very likely to travel to the area to celebrate the conclusion of the agreement.
As negotiations are about to reach an agreement, Trump told reporters earlier on Wednesday that he might visit the Middle East “at some point this weekend”. Trump said it might be Saturday or Sunday.
Trump said, “I’m very likely to go to Egypt.” When answering the question, he added that he “might have gone to Egypt before or shortly after the hostages were released”.
Later on Wednesday, Trump told Axios reporter Barack Lavid in an interview that he might also visit Israel and raised the possibility of speaking in the Israeli parliament.
Axios quoted him as saying, “They want me to give a speech in the Israeli parliament. If they want me to do so, I will definitely do it.”
Hamas issued a statement on its Telegram channel, confirming that an agreement has been reached to “end the war on Gaza, ensure the withdrawal of occupying forces, allow aid supplies to enter, and facilitate the exchange of prisoners of war.” The statement said that Hamas thanked mediators such as Qatar, Egypt and Turkey for their efforts, and changed its tone abruptly, adding that the group valued “the efforts of US President Donald Trump”.
The statement called on Trump and others to ensure that Israel complies with its terms and added that Hamas “will never give up the national rights of our people until freedom, independence and self-determination are achieved.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X that this was “a great day for Israel” and said he would convene the government on Thursday to approve the agreement.
He wrote: “With God’s help, we will continue to achieve all our goals together and enhance peace with our neighboring countries.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar said in another statement that the two sides have reached an agreement on “all the terms and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement”, which will lead to the release of prisoners and hostages from both sides and the resumption of aid. The statement said that specific details would be announced later.
According to the health ministry of the Hamas-controlled area, the initial attack by Hamas killed about 1,200 people and more than 66,000 Palestinians in the conflict. According to a UN-backed agency, Israel’s war has triggered famine in parts of the region and led another UN-backed group to declare it a genocide.
The agreement was reached during talks held in Sharm El Sheikh, a Red Sea resort in Egypt, after Trump announced his plan. As the two sides have significant differences on issues such as the possible disarmament of Hamas, some complex problems in the proposal may still need to be resolved.
