U.S. The first phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, which will see the release of all hostages and Israel’s troop withdrawal from the Palestinian territory, was agreed upon by Hamas and Israel, the president stated on Wednesday. On his Truth Social website, Trump wrote, “I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan.” This indicates that Israel will withdraw its troops to a predetermined line as the first step toward a strong, enduring, and everlasting peace, and that ALL of the hostages will be released very soon. Fairness will be applied to all parties! We thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding nations, and the United States of America. Trump concluded his message by saying, “BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!” in addition to his full title and name. In response to Trump’s announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a brief statement that read, “With God’s help, we will bring them all home.” He was referring to Israeli hostages in Gaza. Israeli officials, Hamas, and Qatar, the mediator, confirmed the initial agreement. The statement by Trump came shortly after the U.S. Trump received a note from Secretary of State Marco Rubio on White House stationery reading, “You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first,” during an event that had nothing to do with the roundtable. Negotiators have been meeting in Egypt for days to hash out a Trump-backed peace plan that he hopes will ultimately result in a permanent end to the two-year war and bring about a sustainable peace in the region. It also comes two years and one day after Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Netanyahu’s top adviser, Ron Dermer, arrived earlier Wednesday in Egypt for the discussions. However, it was not immediately clear whether the parties had made any progress on thornier questions about the future of the conflict, such as whether Hamas will demilitarize, as Trump has demanded, The Associated Press reported that representatives of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and a delegation from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another fringe militant group that holds an unknown number of Israeli hostages, were also expected to attend. Trump stated prior to receiving Rubio’s note on Wednesday that he was contemplating a trip to the Middle East “sometime toward the end of the week” or Sunday, and he added that “negotiations are going along very well.”
Trump says Israel, Hamas agree to 1st phase of Gaza peace plan
