Smoke rises Wednesday after an Israeli military strike in Gaza City as seen from the central Gaza Strip.
SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Israel and Hamas agreed to the "first phase" of his peace plan to pause fighting and release at least some hostages and prisoners, U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday on social media.
"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," Trump wrote. "All Parties will be treated fairly!"
Negotiators have been meeting in Egypt for days to hash out a Trump-backed peace plan that he hopes will ultimately result in a permanent end to the two-year war and bring about a sustainable peace in the region.
The initial agreement was confirmed by Israeli officials and Hamas, as well as mediator Qatar. It was not immediately clear whether the parties had made any progress on thornier questions about the future of the conflict, including whether Hamas will demilitarize, as Trump has demanded, and 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' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, many of them civilians. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead, devastated Gaza and upended global politics.
Trump said earlier Wednesday he was considering a trip to the Middle East within a matter of days.
"I may go there sometime toward the end of the week," Trump said from the White House as he opened a roundtable event on a different matter. The trip could occur Sunday, Trump said, adding that "negotiations are going along very well."
Yet another hint of a deal came later in that event when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio passed Trump a note on White House stationery that read, "You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first." Truth Social is the president's preferred social media platform.
The note prompted Trump to proclaim, "We're very close to a deal in the Middle East."
The arrival of Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, on Wednesday at Sharm el-Sheikh for the discussions, as well as Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, was a sign that negotiators aim to dive deeply into the toughest issues of an American plan to end the war in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's top adviser, Ron Dermer, is also present for the talks.
Hamas says it's seeking firm guarantees from mediators that Israel won't resume its military campaign in the Palestinian territory after the militant group releases all the remaining hostages.
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All sides expressed optimism for a deal to end the two-year war that has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and most of the Gaza Strip destroyed. But key parts of the peace plan still haven't been agreed to earlier Wednesday, including a requirement that Hamas disarm, the timing and extent of an Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, and the creation of an international body to run the territory after Hamas steps down.
Representatives for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine were also in attendance, and a delegation from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another fringe militant group that holds an unknown number of Israeli hostages, were scheduled to arrive, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. Their participation underscores the aim of the talks to encompass all Palestinian groups.
A Palestinian official said negotiators made headway Wednesday on the names of prisoners who will be released and on guarantees that Israel won't resume fighting if the hostages are released.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Hamas promised to release all living hostages but would postpone returning the remains of dead hostages until conditions on the ground in Gaza permits.
The official wouldn't say which Palestinians Hamas wants Israel to release from jail, adding that mediators informed both sides that a deal must be reached by this Friday. The official said Trump would declare an end to the war once a final deal is reached.
Two officials from Arab countries said progress was made in Wednesday's talks and that a deal could be reached in the coming days. Both spoke on condition of anonymity.
Peace plan
The Trump plan calls for an immediate ceasefire and release of the 48 hostages that militants in Gaza still hold from their attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that started the war and triggered Israel's devastating retaliation. About 20 of the hostages are believed to still be alive.
It envisions Israel withdrawing its troops from Gaza after Hamas disarms, and an international security force moving in. The territory would be placed under international governance, with Trump and former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair overseeing it.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said Wednesday in televised comments that the negotiations so far "were very encouraging.
In a statement Tuesday, Hamas reiterated its longstanding demands for a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, but said nothing about disarmament, a step it has long resisted. Hamas has also spoken against the idea of international rule, though it has agreed it will have no role in governing post-war Gaza.
But Israel broke the ceasefire in March, resuming its campaign of bombardment and offensives, saying it aimed to pressure Hamas for the remaining hostage releases.
In the Hamas-led attack two years ago, militants stormed into southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. Most hostages have since been released in ceasefires or other deals.
A growing number of experts, including those commissioned by a U.N. body, say Israel's offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide -- an accusation Israel denies. More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and nearly 170,000 wounded, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
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