Israel and Hamas have struck a deal for Hamas to release all remaining hostages and for Israel to withdraw its forces to an “agreed upon line,” President Trump announced Wednesday, in what he called the “first Phase” of a peace deal to end the two-year-long war.
“This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
The announcement comes just hours after Mr. Trump said that he may travel to the Middle East this weekend, and was open to potentially traveling to the Gaza Strip.
Two regional sources told CBS News there is an agreement on all sides in principle on a hostage release, but procedural issues remain. Once those details are handled, it will be 48 hours before any release starts, sources said.
A little over a week ago, Mr. Trump unveiled a 20-point peace plan at a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who expressed his full support for the proposal.
The current round of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 6 in Egypt, with Egyptian and Qatari officials acting as intermediaries. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, and Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, had been expected to join the talks on Wednesday, days after Netanyahu confirmed that he had sent a delegation “to close the technical details of the release of our hostages.”
The war in Gaza, which has roiled the Middle East, was sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel. That attack killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken as hostages back into Gaza.
Israel’s retaliatory war in Gaza against Hamas, which the U.S. and Israel consider a terrorist organization, has killed more than 67,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, which does not distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties.
Of the 251 hostages who were taken into Gaza, 148 were either freed as part of previous ceasefire agreements or rescued by Israeli forces, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The bodies of another 57 hostages were returned or recovered, the ministry says.
Mr. Trump’s peace plan had called for Hamas to release all 48 remaining hostages. Israel believes 20 of them are still alive. In return, Israel would release 250 Palestinians serving life sentences, along with approximately 1,700 other Gazans detained since the start of the war.
Hamas said on Oct. 4 it agreed to key portions of Mr. Trump’s original proposal — including the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and relinquishing its governance of Gaza. But the group had said other parts of the plan needed to be further negotiated.
