Israel, Hamas agree to ‘first phase’ of plan to end fighting, release hostages, Trump says – Chicago Tribune
WASHINGTON — Israel and Hamas have agreed to the “first phase” of its peace plan aimed at suspending fighting and freeing at least some hostages and prisoners, US President Donald Trump said Wednesday.
“This means that ALL hostages will be released very soon and Israel will withdraw its troops along an agreed-upon line as the first step toward a strong, lasting, everlasting peace,” Trump wrote. “All parties will be treated fairly!” »
Negotiators have been meeting in Egypt for several days to hammer out a peace plan backed by Trump that he hopes will ultimately lead to a permanent end to two years of war and lasting peace in the region.
The initial deal was confirmed by Israeli and Hamas officials, as well as mediator Qatar. It was not immediately clear whether the sides had made progress on thornier issues regarding the future of the conflict, including the demilitarization of Hamas, as Trump has demanded, and the eventual governance of the war-torn territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on social media: “With God’s help, we will bring them all home.” »
The war began with Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people, including many civilians. Israel’s military campaign of retaliation has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead, devastated Gaza and upended world politics.
Trump also said Wednesday that he was considering a trip to the Middle East within days, a major show of optimism as top officials from the United States and Qatar visited an Egyptian resort for the third day of ongoing negotiations to end the war between Israel and Hamas.
“I might go towards the end of the week,” Trump said from the White House as he opened a panel discussion on another topic. The trip could take place on Sunday, Trump said, adding that “negotiations are going very well.”
Another hint of a deal came later at that event when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio passed Trump a note on White House stationery that read: “You must approve a Truth Social publication soon so you can announce the deal first.” » Truth Social is the president’s preferred social media platform.
The memo prompted Trump to proclaim: “We are very close to a deal in the Middle East. »
The arrival in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday of Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as well as Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, is a sign that negotiators are keen to delve deeper into the toughest questions in the US plan to end the war in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top adviser, Ron Dermer, is also present at the talks.
Hamas says it is seeking firm guarantees from mediators that Israel will not resume its military campaign in the Palestinian territory once the militant group frees all remaining hostages.
All sides have expressed optimism about a deal ending the two-year war that has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and destroyed most of the Gaza Strip. But key elements of the peace plan have still not been accepted, including the demand for Hamas’s disarmament, the timing and extent of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and the creation of an international body to manage the territory after Hamas’s resignation.
Representatives of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine were also present, and a delegation from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another fringe militant group that holds an unspecified number of Israeli hostages, was expected to arrive, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Their participation underlines the aim of the talks to include all Palestinian groups.
A Palestinian official said negotiators made progress Wednesday on the names of prisoners who will be released and on guarantees that Israel would not resume fighting if the hostages were freed.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the negotiations, said Hamas had promised to release all living hostages but would delay the return of the remains of the dead hostages until conditions on the ground in Gaza permit.
The official did not specify which Palestinians Hamas wants Israel to release from prison, adding that mediators have informed both sides that a deal must be reached by Friday. The official said President Trump would declare an end to the war once a final deal was reached.
Two Arab country officials said progress was made in Wednesday’s negotiations and a deal could be reached in the coming days. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Trump’s peace plan
The Trump plan calls for an immediate ceasefire and the release of the 48 hostages that Gaza militants are still holding following their attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which started the war and triggered a devastating retaliation by Israel. Around twenty hostages are still alive.
He envisions Israel withdrawing its troops from Gaza after Hamas disarms and an international security force arrives. The territory would be placed under international governance, under the supervision of Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said in televised remarks Wednesday that the negotiations so far “have been very encouraging.”
Netanyahu has already agreed to Trump’s plan. His office said Tuesday that Israel was “cautiously optimistic,” describing the talks as technical negotiations on a plan that both sides had already agreed to.
In a statement released Tuesday, Hamas reiterated its long-standing demands for a lasting ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, but said nothing about disarmament, a move it has long resisted. Hamas also spoke out against the idea of international domination, although it agreed that it would play no role in the governance of Gaza after the war.
Speaking in Sharm el-Sheikh, Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s top negotiator, told Egyptian Qahera television that the group wanted strong guarantees from Trump and mediators that war “would not return.” It appears to be his first public appearance since an Israeli strike targeting him and other senior Hamas leaders in Qatar last month killed six people, including his son and his office director.
In January, the two sides reached a ceasefire that resulted in the release of some Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Under the terms of the deal – in which Trump and Witkoff played major negotiating roles – the two sides were then supposed to begin negotiations on a long-term truce, an Israeli withdrawal and a full release of the hostages.
But Israel broke the ceasefire in March, resuming its campaign of bombings and offensives, saying it aimed to pressure Hamas to secure the remaining hostage releases.
Previous rounds of negotiations have often failed because of the same obstacle, with Hamas demanding assurances the war will end and Netanyahu vowing to keep fighting until the group is destroyed. The Trump plan attempts to solve all the problems at once, providing for the disarmament of Hamas and a post-war scenario for governing the territory with provisions for a major reconstruction campaign.
Pray for agreement
In the Hamas-led attack two years ago, militants swept into southern Israel and killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 251. Most of the hostages have since been released under ceasefires or other agreements.
A growing number of experts, including those commissioned by a UN body, have said that Israel’s offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide – a charge Israel denies. More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and nearly 170,000 injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants but says about half of the deaths were women and children, is part of the Hamas-led government. The United Nations and many independent experts consider these figures to be the most reliable estimate of war casualties.
The ministry said Wednesday that the bodies of 10 people killed by Israeli strikes had been taken to local hospitals in the past 24 hours.
In the Gaza Strip, where much of the territory lies in ruins, Palestinians are desperate for a breakthrough. Thousands of people fleeing the latest Israeli ground offensive in northern Gaza and Gaza City have set up makeshift tents along the beach in the central part of the territory, sometimes using blankets for shelter.
Sara Rihan, a displaced woman from Jabaliya, said she was praying for an end to the war.
“I hope we return home and home even if there are no houses,” she said. “Our existence on our earth is for us the greatest happiness. »
AP journalists Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Lebanon, and Seung Min Kim and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.
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