After two years of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, US President Donald Trump announced on early Thursday that a ceasefire has been agreed by both sides.
According to Qatar, Israel and Hamas have agreed on the details of the first phase of a deal to bring an end to the war, that is part of the US’s so-called “peace plan”.
Details of the first phase have not yet been officially released.
However, media reports indicate it includes three main provisions: a prisoner exchange, the entry of humanitarian aid, and a phased Israeli withdrawal.
Within 72 hours of signing the agreement – expected to take place later on Thursday in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh – all of the remaining 20 living Israeli captives will be released at once, without any formal ceremony.
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The bodies of dead Israeli captives will be released gradually, once their remains are collected.
In exchange, around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners will be freed. While the final list has yet to be approved, it is expected to include 250 individuals serving life sentences, alongside more than 1,700 detainees from the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, at least 400 aid trucks are expected to enter Gaza immediately after the agreement is signed, with that number likely to increase in the coming days. The Rafah border crossing with Egypt is also expected to reopen.
Israeli forces will begin a phased withdrawal from parts of the Gaza Strip. However, the specific lines and scope of the withdrawal in the initial phase remain unclear.
The Israeli military said on Thursday that it had begun preparations to “partially” pull back troops.
Next stage
The Israeli government is set to convene on Thursday afternoon to ratify the ceasefire agreement and approve the list of Palestinian detainees slated for release.
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Once the agreement is ratified, the ceasefire will take effect, and the names of the Palestinian prisoners will be officially announced.
Trump is also likely to visit Israel over the weekend, coinciding with the scheduled release of Israeli captives, set to take place on Sunday or Monday.
Other terms of the the US “peace plan” will be discussed at a later stage. These include the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the reconstruction of the strip, the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of international forces in the territory, and additional provisions.
Last week, Trump unveiled the 20-point plan for ending the devastating two-year war, which gave general precedence to Israel’s framing of the situation in Gaza and its stated security concerns.
The proposal, which has been widely criticised by pro-Palestine advocates, also said that disgraced former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will serve alongside Trump on a transitional committee overseeing the strip.
Israel accepted the proposal while Hamas agreed to parts of its provision, paving the way for Thursday’s announcement.
