Penetrating Gaza: Israel and Hamas agree to the first phase of Trump’s plan
Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to the first phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, a move that would lead to the release of all remaining Israeli hostages, the withdrawal of Israeli forces to defensive positions, and the resumption of humanitarian aid to the devastated Palestinian territories.
Once all the hostages are returned, Israel will release 250 Palestinians serving life sentences in Israeli prisons, in addition to 1,700 Gazans who were arrested during the fighting in Gaza.
The agreement between the warring sides after months of tense negotiations and impending deals raises hopes that the war sparked by a deadly attack by Hamas – and a shock for Israel – two years ago this week, will finally end.
Why did we write this?
An agreement between the warring parties in Gaza after months of tense negotiations and near agreements has brought widespread relief, raising hopes for an end to the war sparked by a deadly Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
This war, Israel’s longest, has spurred related Israeli conflicts with Iran’s ally Hezbollah in Lebanon and with Iran itself, rearranging the strategic balance in the Middle East and leaving the Jewish state the undisputed military power in the region.
But it has also left Israel isolated and even internationally hated to a degree never seen before in its nearly 80 years of existence.
After suffering the devastation caused by an air war the severity of which the world has not known since World War II, Gaza is now a graveyard for more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 20,000 of whom are children.
However, the announcement of the agreement brought widespread relief and celebration, including among Israelis and Palestinians who stayed up late to monitor news of progress made in the Israeli-Hamas-brokered talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
However, the announcement of the agreement brought widespread relief and celebration, including among Israelis and Palestinians who stayed up late to monitor news of progress made in the Israeli-Hamas-brokered talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Announcing the deal in a post on the Truth Social website on Wednesday evening, Trump said: “This is a great day for the Arab and Islamic world, Israel, all surrounding countries, and the United States of America.” He added that the agreement reached by the negotiating parties in Egypt represents “the first steps towards a strong, lasting and lasting peace.”
However, as important and encouraging as the Phase One Agreement is for the people of Israel and Gaza, it is still not an agreement on the full 20-point peace plan that Mr. Trump put forward late last month.
We still have to deal with the thorny issues of disarming Hamas – without which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the attack on Gaza will not end – and post-war governance in Gaza.
As the White House said this week, the hope is that implementation of the first phase of the peace plan will provide the momentum to move on to the difficult issues that remain.
Meanwhile, Israel was already preparing to receive the first of its remaining living hostages (the plan also calls for the return of the bodies of dead hostages) early Saturday.
Speculation mounted late Wednesday that President Trump, a hero to many Israeli hostage families, could be present when the first group of hostages return home.
As reports mounted that a phase one deal was imminent, Trump announced at the White House on Wednesday that he could travel to the region as early as Saturday. We cannot expect a president who craves the global spotlight to miss the opportunity to enjoy admiration and recognition for the historic, region-changing deal that bears his name.