After three days of intense indirect negotiations in Egypt, US President Donald Trump says Israel and Hamas have “signed off on the first phase” of the 20-point peace plan he unveiled last week.
“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,” he posted on social media, without providing further details about what the first phase entails.
Source: BBC
It comes two years and two days after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage.
This triggered a massive Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 67,100 people, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. Its figures are seen as accurate by the UN and other international bodies.
Israel’s security cabinet will meet to approve the first phase of the plan on Thursday evening, after which the full cabinet will also vote on it.
This is what we know.
What has been agreed?
Once the agreement is formally approved – as expected – by the Israeli cabinet, a ceasefire will take effect. Reports in Israeli media suggest this will happen immediately, although a spokesperson for the prime minister’s office said it would begin within 24 hours of the cabinet’s approval.
The Israeli military will withdraw to a line that will leave it in control of about 53% of the Strip, the spokesperson said. According to a map distributed by the White House last week, this is the first of three stages of Israeli withdrawal.
The Israeli military said on Thursday that preparations were under way to “transition to adjusted deployment lines soon”.
After this, a 72-hour countdown will begin during which Hamas must release all 20 of the hostages believed to be alive. The return of the bodies of the 28 deceased hostages would follow, although it is not clear how long that could take.