Israel and Hamas on Thursday agreed a Gaza ceasefire deal that could free the remaining living hostages within days, in a major step toward ending a war that has killed tens of thousands and unleashed a humanitarian crisis. The agreement, to be signed Thursday, also calls for Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as well as prompt a surge of aid into Gaza after more than two years of war started by Hamas’s unprecedented October 2023 attack on Israel.
Palestinian militant group Hamas is to release all hostages while Israel would pull its troops back to an agreed on line, US President Donald Trump said after talks in Egypt on his 20-point peace plan resulted in a deal.
A source within Hamas told AFP the group will exchange 20 living hostages all at the same time for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal’s first phase, with the swap to happen within 72 hours of its implementation.
Trump said he believed all the hostages would “all be coming back on Monday”, adding that Washington will play a role in helping rebuild war-torn Gaza as well as keeping it safe and peaceful.
“Honestly, when I heard the news, I couldn’t hold back. Tears of joy flowed. Two years of bombing, terror, destruction, loss, humiliation, and the constant feeling that we could die at any moment,” displaced Gazan Samer Joudeh told AFP.
“Now, we finally feel like we’re getting a moment of respite,” he added.
Qatar said the deal was the “first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid”.
The hostages are to be freed in exchange for 250 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment and 1,700 others arrested by Israel since the war began, added source within Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would bring the hostages home “with God’s help”, and an official source added the premier’s cabinet would meet Thursday to approve the deal.
Trump said earlier that he may travel to the Middle East this week as a deal was “very close”.
The fast-paced developments came after AFP journalists saw US Secretary of State Marco Rubio interrupt an event at the White House on Wednesday and hand Trump an urgent note about the progress of the negotiations in Egypt.
“I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday,” Trump said, adding that he was “most likely” to turn up in Egypt but would also consider going to war-torn Gaza.
Trump’s plan called for a ceasefire, the release of all the hostages held in Gaza, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
