Israel and Hamas agree to first phase of Gaza ceasefire plan

US President Donald Trump announced late on Wednesday that Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas had "both signed off" on the "first phase" of a plan to end the two-year genocidal war on Gaza.

Writing on the social media platform Truth social, Trump said: "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!"

Minutes later, Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, said an agreement had been reached on "all the provisions and implementation mechanisms" of the first phase of the ceasfire plan, "which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid".

"The details will be announced later," he added.

An Israeli government spokesman said they could expect captives to be released as early as Saturday.

A Hamas statement called on the US and other guarantor states to ensure that Israel implements the deal, which includes a withdrawal. The original plan includes a phased withdrawal. 

In a post on X, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was "a great day for Israel". 

"I thank from the depths of my heart President Trump and his team for their mobilization for this sacred mission of releasing our hostages."

Netanyahu added that he would convene his government to approve the agreement on Thursday and "bring the hostages home". 

Earlier on Wednesday, Khalil al-Hayya, the head of Hamas's negotiating team, said that Hamas had come to the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh "to conduct responsible and serious consultations".

He said the delegation arrived with the explicit goal of ending the war, Israel withdrawing completely from the Gaza Strip, and the release of all Israeli captives, living and dead, in exchange for Palestinian captives detained in Israeli prisons, in accordance with the Trump plan.

The deputy ambassador to Palestine at the UN Majed Bamya marked the occasion with a one word post on X: "Finally..."

In response to a comment congratulating the ambassador, he replied, saying, "I barely can believe it". 

The plan

Last week, Trump unveiled his controversial 20-point plan for ending the devastating two-year war, which gave general precedence to Israel's framing of the situation in Gaza and its stated security concerns.

Point one of the plan said: "Gaza will be a deradicalised terror-free zone that does not pose a threat to its neighbours".

The full text of Trump's 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza

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The proposal, which has been widely criticised by pro-Palestine advocates, also said that disgraced former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will serve alongside Trump on a transitional committee overseeing the strip.

US officials have suggested they want to initially focus talks on a halt to the fighting and the logistics of how the hostages and political prisoners would be released.

The plan originally proposed by Trump envisions an "international stabilisation force" to operate as peacekeepers in the enclave and a transitional interim government made up of technocrats. 

The plan explicitly states that there will be no forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza but floats a "Board of Peace" that would have Trump as its head, which has been criticised as a colonial venture. 

Since the war erupted, more than 238,000 Palestinians have either been killed, wounded or are missing - with much of Gaza's infrastructure, including homes, schools, universities, mosques, churches, public spaces, and health centres, reduced to rubble.

There is a near consensus among genocide scholars and experts that Israel's war on Gaza constitutes a genocide, with countless human rights organisations and a UN inquiry committee drawing the same conclusion.

Recent reports, based on Israeli military intelligence data, indicate that more than 80 percent of those killed in the enclave through May of this year were civilians.