After two years of war, Israel and Palestinian Hamas agreed early Thursday to a ceasefire in Gaza as part of Donald Trump’s plan to establish “lasting” peace in the region, and the US president said he expects the hostages’ return on Monday.
After the announcement of this agreement, a wave of joy invaded Al-Mawasi, an area in the center of the Gaza Strip where tens of thousands of Palestinians displaced by Israeli attacks are crowded, an AFP journalist observed on site.
The first hostages “return on Monday”
“When I heard the news, I couldn’t contain myself. Tears of joy flowed. Two years of bombings, terror, destruction, losses, humiliations and the constant feeling that we could die at any moment. And here we finally have the impression of living a moment of respite,” a displaced person, Samer Joudeh, told AFP.
In a message on his Truth Social network, the US president said he was “proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have accepted the first phase” of his peace plan for Gaza, as part of indirect talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
“This means that ALL hostages will be released very soon and that Israel will withdraw its troops to the agreed line, the first steps towards a strong, lasting and eternal peace,” said Donald Trump.
The Israeli army stated on Thursday that it was preparing to receive the hostages, but also to face “all scenarios.” Donald Trump estimated on Fox News that the hostages held for two years by the Palestinian Islamist movement would be “back on Monday,” including the bodies of those who died in captivity.
Benjamin Netanyahu greets “a great day for Israel”
Qatar, a mediating country, confirmed “that this afternoon an agreement was reached on all the provisions and mechanisms for the implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which will lead to the end of the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and the entry of humanitarian aid,” through its Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed al-Ansari.
For its part, Hamas announced that it had reached an agreement “that provides for the end of the war in Gaza.”
“It’s a great day for Israel,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who thanked Donald Trump and said he would convene his cabinet on Thursday to “ratify the deal and repatriate all of our precious hostages.”
Sources familiar with the matter told AFP that the agreement on the first phase of the plan would be signed on Thursday in Egypt. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi had previously indicated that he would invite, in the event of an agreement, Donald Trump, who covets the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize announced on Friday, to “attend its signing.”
20 live hostages against 2,000 Palestinian detainees
“The fighting must stop once and for all,” responded UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, calling on the parties to “fully respect the terms” of the agreement. “The suffering must end,” he insisted.
Based on the Trump plan, the talks, which began on Monday, take place two years after the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, sparked by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement against Israel on October 7, 2023. During the discussions, the Israeli army continued its deadly bombing raids on the starving, besieged and devastated Palestinian territory, according to the Civil Defense local.
The Trump plan announced on September 29 provides for a ceasefire, an exchange of hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023 for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, the gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas.
According to a Hamas source, the living Israeli hostages, estimated to be 20 of the 47 detained in Gaza, will be released, compared to the almost 2,000 Palestinian detainees. And according to a source close to Hamas, “the Israeli side presented the first letters regarding the withdrawal of its troops.”
State of famine in Gaza
The day before, Hamas’s chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, had demanded from Donald Trump “guarantees” that the war in Gaza would end “once and for all.” Hamas agreed to release the hostages, but also demanded Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza. He did not mention his own disarmament, a key point of the proposal.
Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that his army would remain in most of Gaza and reiterated that Hamas must be disarmed.
Two previous truces, in November 2023 and early 2025, had allowed the return of hostages or captive bodies in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, without, however, leading to a solution to the conflict.
The October 7 attack caused the death of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to a report prepared by AFP based on official data. Of the 251 people kidnapped that day, 47 remain hostages in Gaza, of whom at least 25 are dead according to the army.
In response, Israel launched a military campaign that devastated the territory and, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health, more than 67,183 people were killed, most of them civilians. The UN has declared a state of famine in part of Gaza and its investigators say Israel is committing genocide there. Claims rejected by Israel.
Source: BFM TV
