U.S. President Donald Trump announced on social media Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to a "first phase" of a deal to secure peace in Gaza.
"This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly!" President Trump wrote.
Following the announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a message.
"A great day for Israel. Tomorrow I will convene the government to approve the agreement and bring all our dear captives back home," Netanyahu wrote.
"With God’s help we will bring them all home."
"the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announces reaching an agreement that stipulates ending the war on Gaza, the withdrawal of the occupation from it, the entry of aid, and the exchange of prisoners," a representative for the group said in a statement. "We highly appreciate the efforts of the mediating brothers in Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, and we also value the efforts of US President Donald Trump aimed at permanently stopping the war and the complete withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip."
The announcement, one day after the second anniversary of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, comes as mediators from the U.S., Qatar, Egypt and Turkey have worked to secure a mutual path toward an end to the fighting.
A spokesperson for Qatar's Foreign Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that the deal addresses "all terms and mechanisms for implementing the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement."
At the end of September, President Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House and unveiled what the president described as a "comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict" between Israel and Hamas.
The 20-point plan called for an immediate end to the war, the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli forces to an "agreed upon line," and the demilitarization of Gaza — which includes Hamas giving up all of its weapons.
President Trump's plan also called for Israel to release more than 1,700 Gazans imprisoned in Israel, and for Gaza to be governed under a "temporary transitional governance" — which will be supervised by a so-called "Board of Peace," headed and chaired by President Trump.
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Days later, Hamas said in a statement it agreed to cede administration of the Gaza Strip to independent leadership and said it would release "all occupation prisoners, alive and dead bodies, according to the exchange formula mentioned in President Trump’s proposal."
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
