By SAMY MAGDY, SAM MEDNICK and AAMER MADHANI, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel and Hamas have agreed to pause fighting in Gaza and release at least some hostages and prisoners in an agreement that was put forward by the Trump administration and would represent the biggest breakthrough in months in the devastating two-year-old war.
“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,” President Donald Trump wrote on social media. “All Parties will be treated fairly!”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on social media, “With God’s help we will bring them all home.” Hamas said it had agreed to a deal that will lead to the end of the war in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, the entry of aid into Gaza and the exchange of prisoners for hostages.
Hamas called on Trump and the mediators to ensure that Israel implements all the provisions of the deal “without disavowal or delay in implementation of what was agreed upon.”
Hamas plans to release all 20 living hostages this weekend, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press, while the Israeli military will begin a withdrawal from the majority of Gaza.
While many questions remain, the sides appear to be closer than they have been in several months to ending a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, destroyed most of Gaza and triggered other armed conflicts across the Middle East.
The war has sparked worldwide protests and brought widespread allegations of genocide that Israel denies. Israel is more isolated than it has been in decades and bitterly divided over the failure to return the hostages. The Palestinians’ dream of an independent state appears more remote than ever despite recent moves by major Western countries to recognize one.
The deal was solidified in Egypt after days of negotiations centered on a Trump-backed peace plan that he hopes will ultimately result in a permanent end to the war and bring about a sustainable peace in the region.
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 peace talks, which were also attended by Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, was a sign that negotiators aimed to dive deeply into the toughest issues of an American plan to end the war. Netanyahu’s top adviser, Ron Dermer, was also present for the talks.
Trump expressed optimism earlier in the day by saying that he was considering a trip to the Middle East within a matter of days.
Yet another hint of an emerging 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 war began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, many of them civilians, and took 251 hostage. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead, devastated Gaza and upended global politics.
This would be the third ceasefire reached since the start of the war. The first, in November 2023, saw more than 100 hostages, mainly women and children, freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners before it broke down. In the second, in January and February of this year, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israel ended that ceasefire in March with a surprise bombardment.
Praying for a deal
A growing number of experts, including those commissioned by a U.N. body, have said that 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.
The ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but says around half of the deaths were women and children, is part of the Hamas-run government. The United Nations and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.
The ministry said Wednesday that the bodies of 10 people killed by Israeli strikes had been brought to local hospitals over the past 24 hours. In the Gaza Strip, where much of the territory lies in ruins, Palestinians have been desperate for a breakthrough. Thousands fleeing Israel’s latest 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 to our places and homes even if there are no homes,” she said. “Our existence in our land is the biggest happiness for us.”
Magdy reported from Cairo and Mednick from Tel Aviv, Israel
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