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Hamas has agreed to a peace deal pushed by President Donald Trump to end the war in Gaza and return the hostages, two years after the terrorist network attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparking not only the bloodiest day for Jews since the Holocaust, but a deadly war and a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday to make the announcement: “I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan. 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! 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!”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week agreed to the U.S.’s 20-point plan that would see the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of all 48 hostages still held, 21 of whom are still assessed to be alive, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
TRUMP UNVEILS 20-POINT PLAN TO SECURE PEACE IN GAZA, INCLUDING GRANTING SOME HAMAS MEMBERS ‘AMNESTY’
The exact terms of the agreement – which Israeli and Hamas negotiators traveled to Egypt to hash out on Monday – remain unclear. Though under the original agreement, Hamas would have to completely disarm in exchange for Israel’s military operation to end, more humanitarian aid for Palestinians would be pushed into the enclave, and planning the reconstruction of Gaza could begin.
Hamas, under the terms, would also have been granted “amnesty” for those who willingly give up their arms, and once all the hostages have been returned, Israel would release “250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after Oct. 7th, 2023.”
All the hostages were also supposed to be freed within 72-hours of an agreement being reached – though Hamas on Saturday signaled this may be unrealistic as it claims some of the deceased are believed to be buried under rubble.
Hamas appeared to agree to part of the original terms presented by the Trump administration. But it also signaled over the weekend that it had concerns over its disarmament and the trustworthiness of Israel not to re-engage with its military ambitions once the hostages are returned.
Specifics on various aspects of the original deal remain ambiguous, including on the international “Board of Peace” that would be headed by Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to oversee Gaza’s administration and reconstruction.
Trump said last week that “leaders from other countries” would be named to the board later.
The 20-point blueprint also said that Gaza Strip for the foreseeable future “will be governed under the temporary transitional governance of a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee, responsible for delivering the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people in Gaza.”
The plan, which has been backed by Middle Eastern and Arab nations, was presented to Hamas late last month by mediators from Qatar and Egypt.
Though both nations – along with several new Western nations making up 157 of the 193 UN member states – support Palestinian statehood, the plan did not directly pave a path for how that could be accomplished.
A separate panel of experts, “who have helped birth some of the thriving modern miracle cities in the Middle East,” would develop an economic reconstruction plan.
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Despite previous concerns over comments made by Trump and his administration, no one would be forced to leave under the U.S.’s latest plan, which also prevents Israel from annexing Gaza.
Instead, according to the terms of the deal released last week by the White House, “We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.”
Trump warned that if Hamas did not agree to the deal, Israel would have the full backing of the U.S. to carry out its operational plans in Gaza.
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