Hamas, Israel agree hostage release, ceasefire under Trump plan

Israel and Hamas connected Thursday agreed a Gaza ceasefire woody to escaped the remaining surviving hostages, successful a large measurement towards ending a warfare that has killed tens of thousands of radical and unleashed a humanitarian catastrophe.

The agreement, which follows a 20-point bid program for Gaza announced past period by US President Donald Trump, is to beryllium signed Thursday successful Egypt, and calls for Israel to merchandise hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Under the deal, determination volition beryllium a a surge of assistance into Gaza aft much than 2 years of warfare started by Hamas’s unprecedented October 2023 onslaught connected Israel.

The Israeli service said it was preparing to propulsion backmost troops successful Gaza arsenic portion of the deal.

Further down the line, Trump’s program besides calls for the disarmament of Hamas and for Gaza to beryllium ruled by a transitional authorization headed by the US president himself, though this constituent has yet to beryllium addressed.

A root wrong Hamas told AFP the radical volition speech 20 surviving hostages each astatine the aforesaid clip for astir 2,000 Palestinian prisoners arsenic portion of the deal’s archetypal phase, with the swap to hap wrong 72 hours of its implementation.

The timing of the implementation would beryllium announced connected Thursday, the root said, portion Trump said helium believed each the hostages would “all beryllium coming backmost connected Monday”.

– ‘Tears of joy’ –

The announcement sparked waves of joyousness successful Gaza, overmuch of which has been flattened by bombardment and astir of whose residents person been displaced astatine slightest erstwhile implicit the past 2 years.

“Honestly, erstwhile I heard the news, I couldn’t clasp back. Tears of joyousness flowed. Two years of bombing, terror, destruction, loss, humiliation, and the changeless feeling that we could dice astatine immoderate moment,” displaced Palestinian Samer Joudeh told AFP.

“Now, we yet consciousness similar we’re getting a infinitesimal of respite.”

In Khan Yunis successful the southbound of the Gaza Strip, young radical sang, danced and clapped, AFP footage showed.

The woody is being thrashed retired successful indirect negotiations down closed doors successful a league centre successful Sharm El-Sheikh, an Egyptian edifice municipality connected the Red Sea.

There was nary of the pomp astir the talks of erstwhile deals agreed successful Egypt, successful a imaginable awesome that the deeper issues successful the Israeli-Palestinian struggle are not being addressed.

Qatar said the woody was the “first signifier of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which volition pb to ending the war, the merchandise of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the introduction of aid”.

The hostages are to beryllium freed successful speech for 250 Palestinians sentenced to beingness imprisonment and 1,700 others arrested by Israel since the warfare began, added the root wrong Hamas.

– ‘With God’s help’ –

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said helium would bring the hostages location “with God’s help”, and an authoritative root added the premier’s furniture would conscionable Thursday to o.k. the deal.

Trump said earlier that helium whitethorn question to the Middle East this week arsenic a woody was “very close”.

The fast-paced developments came aft AFP journalists saw US Secretary of State Marco Rubio interrupt an lawsuit astatine the White House connected Wednesday and manus Trump an urgent enactment astir the advancement of the negotiations successful Egypt.

“I whitethorn spell determination sometime toward the extremity of the week, possibly connected Sunday,” Trump said, adding that helium was “most likely” to crook up successful Egypt but would besides see going to Gaza.

Hamas has submitted a database of Palestinian prisoners it wants released from Israeli jails successful the archetypal signifier of the truce.

In exchange, Hamas is to escaped the remaining 47 hostages, some live and dead, who were seized successful October 2023.

In Egypt, the talks were taking spot nether the shadiness of the 2nd day of the Hamas attack, which resulted successful the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based connected authoritative Israeli figures.

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