A deal has been reached for the first phase of an agreement to end Israel’s two-year war in Gaza, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday.
“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan,” said Trump in a post on Truth Social. “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!” he added.
Negotiators for Israel and the terror group Hamas have huddled in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for days with mediators to hammer out an agreement on the first phase of the U.S.-backed framework for peace in Gaza and a pathway to a Palestinian state.
The first phase of the deal as presented by Trump last week involve a swap of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel for hostages held by the terror group Hamas. The framework presented by Trump had Hamas releasing all 48 hostages still held in Gaza, living and dead, within 72 hours in exchange for hundreds of prisoners from Israel.
Negotiations reportedly stuck on the hostage release. Only 20 hostages are believed to be alive. Of the dead, Israeli officials were concerned that Hamas may not know where all the bodies are, much less be able to retrieve them.
????Israeli officials believe the deal will be reached within 24-36 hours.
Hamas has provided information on the living hostages — 20 in total.
Hamas is searching for all the bodies of the dead hostages, though it’s far from guaranteed that they’ll all be found.
Israel is…
— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) October 8, 2025
Once hostages are secure, the Israeli military is expected to draw back to the “yellow line,” as the Trump plan identified it, leaving the heart of Gaza.
As the two sides have neared an agreement, diplomats converged on the sea-side city of Sharm el-Sheikh this week.
Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law and former Middle East adviser, Jared Kushner were expected to head to Egyt earlier this week. Qatar Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani was set to join negotiators in person in Egypt on Wednesday, as well as Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, according to The New York Times.