US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire in Gaza, after days of indirect talks in Egypt.
Qatar, which helped broker the deal along with Egypt, the United States and Turkey, said the deal was 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”.
“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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.
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Here is what is known so far about the agreement, which is set to be signed Thursday in Egypt:
Hamas will release 20 living hostages at the same time as part of the first phase of the deal, a Palestinian source close to the negotiations said.
A top official within Hamas told AFP Israel will release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners: 250 among those serving life sentences and 1,700 others detained since the start of the war.
The exchange should take place within 72 hours of the implementation of the deal, which was also “agreed with Palestinian factions”, another source within Hamas said.
A daily minimum of 400 trucks of aid will enter the Gaza Strip for the first five days of the ceasefire, to be increased in following days, according to the same source.
It also provides for the “return of displaced persons from the south of the Gaza Strip to Gaza (City) and the north immediately,” they added.
The deal stipulates “scheduled withdrawals” of Israeli troops, the Hamas top official said, and includes “guarantees from President Trump and the mediators”.
Hamas called in an official statement on Trump to compel Israel to fully implement the agreement and “not allow it to evade or procrastinate in implementing what has been agreed”.
Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said both sides have already agreed “on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will convene his government on Thursday to approve the agreement.
The deal will be formally signed on Thursday around midday in Egypt, a source with knowledge of the agreement told AFP on condition of anonymity.
A Hamas official said negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire would begin “immediately”.
Trump said Wednesday he believed all the hostages, including the deceased will be “coming back” Monday.
Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza had called for a ceasefire, the release of all the hostages held in Gaza, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
