Trump says Israel, Hamas reach agreement on 1st phase of Gaza deal

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says that Israel and Hamas have agreed to implement the first phase of a White House peace plan aimed at ending the war in Gaza and Israeli hostages will soon be released.

Trump said in an Oct. 8 statement that Israel would also withdraw its troops from Gaza “to an agreed upon line,” heralding the agreement as a first step to durable and lasting peace in the region.

“This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, “and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen.”

The announcement came after Trump said he was considering a last-minute trip to the Middle East to help finalize the agreement that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the Hamas militant group first signaled their support for last week.

It comes after multiple failed attempts to defuse the two-year-old war that began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel and killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people hostage.

Israel’s military campaign in response has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The first phase of the deal was expected to see the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinians jailed in Israel. There are 48 remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

Netanyahu thanked Trump for his work on the agreement in a statement, in which he expressed a desire to expand peace with Israel’s neighbors.

“A great day for Israel. Tomorrow I will convene the government to approve the agreement and bring all our dear hostages home,” Netanyahu said.

Hamas has appeared willing to hand over governance of Gaza to a coalition of Palestinian technocrats as part of the plan. It has been less willing to completely disarm and commit to playing no future role in governance of Gaza.

Negotiators from Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. met for several days in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt with Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff representing the United States in the discussions.

A deal appeared to be close at hand on the afternoon of Wednesday when Trump said he was considering a trip to Egypt. “Our final negotiation is with Hamas, and it seems to be going well,” Trump said at the time.