President Donald Trump says that Israel and Hamas have “signed off on the first phase” of a deal to end the two-year conflict in Gaza.
Trump announced it Wednesday in a post on Truth Social.
“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. All Parties will be treated fairly!,” Trump wrote. “This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
Neither the Israeli government nor Hamas have announced an agreement and it remains unclear what concessions each side is willing to make to end fighting that began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and led to an Israel response that has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, including many civilians.
Trump, who along with Arab allies drew up with the 20-point peace plan that was finalized over three days of talks in Egypt this week, said earlier Wednesday that he would travel to the region this weekend to put a capstone on what could be the biggest foreign policy achievement of his presidency.
