Hamas gets US guarantees on permanent end to war, Trump touts 'everlasting' peace

US President Donald Trump began his Cabinet meeting on Thursday by celebrating a potential peace deal that he brokered to end the war in Gaza.

“We ended the war in Gaza, and on a much bigger basis, created peace… an everlasting peace in the Middle East,” he said, the latter a phrase he has repeatedly used since he held a press briefing on 29 September with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing that Israel accepted a ceasefire deal.

Meanwhile, Israel continued to bombard Gaza on Thursday.

Talks were held in Egypt this week to hammer out details, leading to Hamas and Israel signing a ceasefire agreement on Thursday and agreeing to exchange Israeli living and deceased captives in exchange for Palestinian captives in the first phase of the deal.

The deal includes 20 Israeli living captives, 28 deceased Israeli captives, 250 Palestinians who were sentenced to life imprisonment and 1,700 prisoners who were arrested after 7 October 2023 in Gaza.

Trump said all remaining living captives held by Hamas will be released on “Monday or Tuesday” and suggested he would be in Israel to witness it. He would then go to Egypt for a signing ceremony.

He devoted a few minutes to talking about the Israeli captives. He only made a slight nod to the over 67,000 Palestinian people killed during the war on Gaza, which has been recognised as a genocide by the United Nations. 

“From the Hamas standpoint, they probably lost 70,000 people. That’s big retribution,” he said of Hamas, without providing any evidence. 

Trump added that “Gaza would be redone”.

"You have tremendous wealth in that part of the world by certain countries, and just a small part of what they make will do wonders for Gaza," he added.

"I think you're going to see some tremendous countries stepping up and putting up a lot of money and taking care of things."

Trump said that Gaza was not somewhere people could live. Israel has completely destroyed infrastructure in Gaza, including homes, hospitals, schools, universities and places of worship.

While phase one of the peace deal is in the works, there are still complex negotiations to be hammered out, such as whether Hamas will disarm and what that might look like, what form the future governance of Gaza will take, and full details of Israeli military withdrawal.

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“There will be disarming, there will be pullbacks, there will be a lot of things happening,” Trump said.

Trump declined to endorse a two-state solution.

"I don't have a view,” he said. “I'm going to go with what they agreed to," he said during a press conference on Thursday without specifying who he was referring to.

Despite the 20-point peace plan, which included aspects related to Palestinian statehood, Netanyahu pushed back on it during the 29 September press briefing. 

Trump continued to justify the US bombing of Iran, saying a peace deal in Gaza could not have happened without it.

“I think the attack was important on Iran,” he said. “If that didn’t happen, they would have numerous nuclear weapons, and there would be a dark cloud on the deal.”

'Guarantees'

Hamas pushed for “real guarantees” that Israel would uphold a permanent ceasefire. On Thursday, Hamas’s chief negotiator said the group had received guarantees from the US and international mediators confirming that “the war has ended permanently”.

“Today we announce that the agreement has been reached to end the war and aggression against our people and begin implementing a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of the occupation forces,” Khalil al-Hayya said in a televised speech.

On Thursday, Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced that Turkey will participate in implementing the Gaza ceasefire. 

"God willing, we as Turkey will take part in the mission force that will monitor the agreement's implementation in the field," he said in a speech in Ankara.

A full government cabinet vote is taking place on Thursday in Israel to vote on the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire. If it is approved, Israeli military forces would deploy along the proposed yellow Israeli withdrawal line in Gaza.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said during the meeting that he will bring down Netanyahu’s government if Hamas is not dismantled, Israel National News reported.

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Ben-Gvir is alleged to have delayed the security cabinet meeting to veto the release of specific Palestinian captives, and consequently, the ceasefire deal.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced he would vote against the deal.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Gidon Saar told the Jerusalem Post on Thursday that Israel’s military actions increased pressure on Hamas.

Sa’ar said that since Israel accepted the Trump Plan, there has been renewed international interest in engaging with Israel.

“This morning alone, we received numerous messages from European foreign ministers expressing a desire to open a new chapter."

Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi vowed the group will “monitor” Israel’s compliance with the Gaza ceasefire agreement and will resume attacks on Israel if it fails to comply.

“We will remain in a state of full alertness and readiness. We will monitor the implementation phase of this agreement with complete accuracy and care,” Houthi stated in a televised speech on Thursday. “If it is achieved, then that is a blessing, which we wish for. Otherwise, we will continue our path of (military) support and backing,” he added.

The Houthis have been attacking Israel and targeting Israeli-linked shipping vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since October 2023, in what they say is in solidarity with the people of Gaza.