CAIRO: Israel and Hamas agreed on Thursday to the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire aimed at ending a conflict that has killed tens of thousands, razed the Palestinian territory and unleashed a major humanitarian crisis.
The deal, to be signed Thursday, includes the release of captives and prisoners as well as a surge of aid into Gaza after more than two years of genocide after Tel Aviv started bombing the Palestinian enclave following Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel.
Key developments
- US President Trump says Hamas will release all captives while Israel would pull its troops back to an agreed on line
- Source says Hamas will exchange 20 living captives for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners
- Trump thanks mediators Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye; earlier said he may travel to Middle East this week as a deal was “very close”
Palestinian group Hamas would release all captives while Israel would pull its troops back to an agreed on line, US President Donald Trump said after talks in Egypt on his 20-point peace plan resulted in a deal.
Qatar said the deal was the “first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid”.
Hamas will exchange 20 living captives for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of the first phase of a deal, a source within the group told AFP Thursday.
The exchange will take place within 72 hours of the implementation of the agreement, which is expected to be signed on Thursday, the source familiar with the negotiations said.
The captives will be released in exchange for 250 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment and 1,700 others arrested by Israel since the war began, the source added.
The Israeli military said that Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir instructed forces to prepare strong defenses and be ready for any scenario and to prepare to lead the operation for the captives’ return with sensitivity and professionalism, following the announcement of the Gaza ceasefire agreement
“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first phase of our Peace Plan,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
“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.”
Trump also thanked mediators Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye, adding: “BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
He also told Reuters that a Gaza hostages-for-ceasefire deal hammered out in Egypt represented “a great day for the world”.
“The whole world has come together on this one, Israel, every country has come together. This has been a fantastic day,” Trump told Reuters in a brief telephone interview.
“This is a great day for the world. This is a wonderful day, a wonderful day for everybody,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would bring the Israeli captives home “with God’s help”.
In a separate post on X, he said: “With the approval of the first phase of the plan, all our hostages will be brought home.”
“Through steadfast resolve, powerful military action, and the great efforts of our great friend and ally President Trump, we have reached this critical turning point,” he said, thanking the US president for “his leadership, his partnership, and his unwavering commitment to the safety of Israel and the freedom of our hostages”.
Trump said earlier that he may travel to the Middle East this week as a deal was “very close”.
In a dramatic moment, AFP journalists saw US Secretary of State Marco Rubio interrupt an event at the White House and hand Trump an urgent note about the progress of the negotiations in Egypt.
“I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday,” Trump said, adding that he was “most likely” to turn up in Egypt but would also consider going to war-torn Gaza.
Trump’s plan called for a ceasefire, the release of all the captives held in Gaza, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff arrived at the talks earlier.
An Israeli government spokesperson said the captives release was expected to begin on Saturday. Meanwhile, Trump told Fox News’ ‘Hannity’ programme on Wednesday that captives held in Gaza will probably be released on Monday.
‘Optimism prevails’
As night fell in the coastal area of Al-Mawasi in southern Gaza, an AFP contributor described an atmosphere of anticipation before the announcement, with joyful chants of “Allahu akbar”, and some celebratory gunfire into the air.
“We’re closely following every bit of news about the negotiations and the ceasefire,” said 50-year-old Mohammed Zamlot, who had been displaced from northern Gaza.
Hamas had submitted a list of Palestinian prisoners it wants released from Israeli jails in the first phase of the truce.
In exchange, Hamas is set to free the remaining 47 captives, both alive and dead, who were seized in its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Qatar’s prime minister and Turkey’s intelligence chief were also expected at the talks on Wednesday.
Hamas said it would be joined by delegations from Islamic Jihad — which has also held some of the captives in Gaza — as well as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
The negotiations were taking place under the shadow of the second anniversary of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which has killed at least 67,183 people, according to the health ministry in the territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.
The territory’s civil defence agency, a rescue force operating under Hamas’s authority, said the bombardment of Gaza had not stopped in the hours before the deal. An AFP journalist in Israel near the Gaza border reported hearing multiple explosions in the morning.
Protests, prisoners
Global pressure to end the conflict has escalated, with much of Gaza flattened, a UN-declared famine unfolding and Israeli captive families still longing for their loved ones’ return.
One key to the negotiations was the names of the Palestinian prisoners Hamas pushed for.
High-profile inmate Marwan Barghouti — from Hamas’s rival, the Fatah movement — is among those the group wanted to see released, according to Egyptian state-linked media.
Hamas’s top negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, also said the group wants “guarantees from President Trump and the sponsor countries that the war will end once and for all”.
Arab countries say plan must lead to Palestinian state
The next phase of Trump’s plan calls for an international body led by Trump and including former British prime minister Tony Blair to play a role in Gaza’s post-war administration.
Arab countries which back the plan say it must lead to eventual independence for a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu says will never happen.
There is no clear indication who will rule Gaza when the war ends. Netanyahu, Trump, Western and Arab states have ruled out a role for Hamas, which has run Gaza since driving out Palestinian rivals in 2007.
Hamas has said it would relinquish Gaza governance only to a Palestinian technocrat government supervised by the Palestinian Authority and backed by Arab and Muslim countries.
It rejects any role for Blair or foreign rule of Gaza.
Global outrage has mounted against Israel’s assault. Multiple rights experts, scholars and a UN inquiry say it amounts to genocide. Israel calls its actions self-defence after the 2023 Hamas attack.
