Israel and Hamas agree on the ‘first phase’ of Gaza ceasefire deal

TEL AVIV — Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal that’s intended to end to the devastating Gaza war which unleashed the deadliest fighting ever between Israelis and Palestinians.

President Trump said on Truth Social that Israel and Hamas “have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan.” 

“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! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!” 

The announcement came just hours after Trump told reporters at the White House he was prepared to travel to the Middle East as early as this weekend.

Israel and Hamas don’t speak to each other directly, requiring indirect negotiations that were brokered by President Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey in Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt.

It is not clear when the ceasefire is due to take effect.

It is believed the deal calls for Hamas to release nearly 50 hostages, living and dead, and for Israel to free nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

As outlined by Trump last week, other key elements of the deal call for Hamas to disarm and give up a future role in governing Gaza, the seaside territory devastated by two years of fighting.

Israel is expected to keep some troops in Gaza for now, but would eventually remove them as the ceasefire solidifies and peace takes hold.

The precise details of these key provisions were not immediately clear.

The agreement marks a major breakthrough after multiple failed efforts — and two previous ceasefires that unraveled. A truce reached in January of this year fell apart in March when Israel renewed an offensive in Gaza. An ceasefire in the early days of the war, in November 2023, lasted just a week before collapsing.

The broad international effort has built widespread support for the latest ceasefire and raised hopes that this one will last. In both Israeli and the Palestinian societies, strong majorities have favored an end to the fighting.

The war began with a surprise attack by Hamas on southern Israel in the early morning of Oct. 7, 2023. Nearly 1,200 people were killed, mostly Israeli civilians, including many attending a weekend music festival. This was the worst one-day attack on Israel since the country’s founding in 1948.

Israel unleased a ferocious response that has claimed the lives of more then 67,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Israel’s sustained bombing campaign and relentless ground force offensives have leveled most of Gaza’s homes, schools, hospitals and businesses. Israel has limited aid to Gaza throughout the conflict, leading to desperate shortages of food and medicine.

The Gaza population of more than 2 million has been repeatedly uprooted throughout the war, with most residents now squeezed into tent encampments in the southern part of the territory, near the border with Egypt.

An end to the fighting is expected to lead to rapid increases in the supply of food and other basic needs.

But the rebuilding of houses, roads, water and electricity systems will be a project lasting many years.

And while an end of the war may now be within reach, there’s no clear roadmap to resolve the question of Palestinian political rights.

The plan calls for Hamas to step aside after ruling Gaza for nearly two decades. It calls for “qualified Palestinians and international experts” to form a transitional governing committee. In addition, an international “Board of Peace,” chaired by Trump, would supervise the committee and oversee the reconstruction of Gaza.

On the critical question of a Palestinian state, the plan offers a vague call for a “credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood,” but provides no details.

Israel, meanwhile, has emerged from the war in a much stronger security position after decimating Hamas in Gaza, slamming Hezbollah in Lebanon, and hammering Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Yet Israel has been isolated internationally for the way it carried out the Gaza war, inflicting so many civilian casualties, restricting humanitarian aid, and damaging so much of the territory’s infrastructure.