Israel and Hamas reach agreement on ‘first phase’ of plan to stop fighting and release hostages, prisoners, Trump says

Israel and Hamas have agreed to the “first phase” of its peace plan aimed at suspending fighting and freeing at least some hostages and prisoners, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday.

“This means that ALL hostages will be released very soon and Israel will withdraw its troops along an agreed-upon line as the first step toward a strong, lasting, everlasting peace,” Trump wrote. “All parties will be treated fairly!”

Trump said Wednesday that he is considering a trip to the Middle East within days, a major show of optimism as top officials from the United States and Qatar visited an Egyptian resort for the third day of ongoing negotiations to end the war between Israel and Hamas.

“I might go towards the end of the week,” Trump said from the White House as he opened a roundtable discussion on another topic. The trip could take place on Sunday, Trump said, adding that “negotiations are progressing very well.”

Another hint of a deal came later at that event when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio passed Trump a note on White House stationery that read: “You must approve a Truth Social publication soon so you can announce the deal first.” » Truth Social is the president’s preferred social media platform.

The memo prompted Trump to proclaim, “We are very close to a deal in the Middle East.”

The arrival in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday of Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as well as Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, is a sign that negotiators are keen to delve deeper into the toughest questions in the US plan to end the war in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top adviser, Ron Dermer, is also present at the talks.

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