The agreement, which will be made official in Egypt, seeks to return 47 kidnapped by the paramilitary organization and release Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
The president of the United States, donald trumpconfirmed that Israel and Hamas reached an agreement to begin an exchange of hostages for prisoners, marking the first phase of their peace plan to end the war in Loop.
As detailed by Trump on his social networks, this agreement will allow the release of the 47 hostages captured during the attack on October 7, 2023 and the return of a list of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. “I am 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 very soon and Israel will withdraw its troops to an agreed line as the first step towards a solid and lasting peace.“said the president.
The agreement, which will be made official this Thursday in Egypt, contemplates that Hamas releases nearly 20 hostages who are alive in the next 72 hourswhile the Israeli Army will advance with the partial withdrawal of its forces from the Palestinian territory, according to the agreed terms. During the negotiations, the Palestinian group presented mediators with a list of prisoners it seeks to release as part of this first phase.
Trump highlighted the collaboration of the mediating countries and expressed his optimism about the historic impact of the measure: “This is a GREAT day for the Arab and Muslim world, Israel, all neighboring nations, and the United States. We thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye, who worked to make this historic and unprecedented event a reality. BLESSED ARE THE BUILDERS OF PEACE!”
Donald Trump considers traveling to the Middle East
The president also announced that it is likely that he will travel to Egypt in the coming days to personally monitor progress: “I’ll probably go to Egypt. That’s where everyone is gathered right now, and we greatly appreciate it. I’ll be doing the rounds, as they say”, he stated.
Trump explained that he has been in constant contact with his team in the region, made up of his special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushnerwho accompany the conversations there. “I have been talking to our people in the Middle East about the possible peace agreement. We are in a beautiful phase, we hope it becomes a reality, but we are very close, they are going very well“, the president had previously assured.
For his part, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahupublicly supported Trump’s plan, although he clarified that he will not support the creation of a Palestinian state and that Israeli troops will remain deployed “in the majority” of Gaza. This nuance raised questions about the full implementation of the US plan.
Source: Ambito
