Hamas accepts Trump’s peace deal, ending 2-year-long war

Hamas agreed to the peace agreement pushed by the president Donald Trump To end the war in Gaza and return the hostages, two years after the terrorist network attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, igniting not only the bloodiest day for Jews since the Holocaust, but also a deadly war and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday to announce: “I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have signed on to Phase One of our peace plan. This means that all hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw its forces to an agreed-upon line as the first steps toward a strong, lasting, and everlasting peace. All parties will be treated fairly! This is a great day for the Arab and Muslim world, Israel, everyone.” The surrounding countries and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey who worked with us to achieve this historic and unprecedented event. Blessed are the peacemakers!”

Moments before the president’s announcement, photos emerged from the negotiating room in Sharm El-Sheikh showing senior officials hugging and shaking hands while reports indicated significant progress toward a hostage release deal. Retired General Nitzan Alon was seen shaking hands with Qatari Prime Minister Al Thani, with Special Envoy Witkoff in the background. On the other side, Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya and other senior officials appeared smiling. An Israeli source said that preparations are underway for the official announcement of the agreement, while other officials expect it to be signed on Thursday. Israeli media reported that Israel and the movement would sign the agreement on Thursday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement: “With God’s help, we will return them all to their homeland.” Netanyahu added in a statement in Hebrew: “A great day for Israel. Tomorrow I will hold a government meeting to approve the agreement and return all the dear hostages to the homeland. I thank the soldiers of the IDF and all the heroic security forces – thanks to their courage and sacrifices we have reached this day. I thank from the bottom of my heart President Trump and his team for mobilizing for this sacred mission of liberating our hostages. And with God’s help, together we will continue to achieve every goal.” “What we have.” “Our goals are to expand peace with our neighbors.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin speaks with US President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on April 7, 2025 in Washington. (Kevin Deitch/Getty Images)

The terrorist Hamas movement announced in an official statement, “After responsible and serious negotiations conducted by the movement and the Palestinian resistance factions regarding President Trump’s proposal in Sharm El-Sheikh, with the aim of ending the war of genocide against our Palestinian people and the withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip, Hamas announces the reaching of an agreement that ends the war on Gaza, stipulates the withdrawal of the occupation, allows the entry of aid and carries out the prisoner exchange process.”

“We highly value the efforts of the mediators in Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, and we thank US President Donald Trump for his efforts to finally end the war and completely withdraw the occupation from the Gaza Strip. We call on President Trump, the guarantor countries of the agreement and all Arab, Islamic and international parties to oblige the occupation government to fulfill all its obligations contained in the agreement, and not to allow it to evade or delay its implementation.” “Agreements.”

Dr. Majid Al-Ansari, the official spokesman for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Channel 10: “The mediators announce that an agreement has been reached tonight on all the conditions and mechanisms for implementing the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which will lead to stopping the war, releasing Israeli detainees and Palestinian prisoners, and allowing the entry of aid.”

According to Israeli officials, the living hostages are expected to be released in one phase within 72 hours. The return of the bodies of the deceased hostages will take longer, but Israel insists on including them in the deal. Hamas claims, supported by some Israeli sources, that part of the delay stems from the fact that some bodies are not located in areas under its control.

Following Trump’s announcement, the hostage families’ headquarters issued a statement saying: “The hostage families wish to express deep gratitude to US President Donald Trump and his team for the leadership and determination that led to this historic breakthrough: an end to the war and a comprehensive agreement to return all hostages. There are 48 hostages in Hamas captivity. Our moral and patriotic obligation is to bring them all home, alive and fallen alike. Their return is a condition for the return of all hostages.” Rehabilitation and revitalization of Israeli society as a whole. We will not calm down until the last hostage returns. “We will bring them back. We will rise.”

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week approved a 20-point US plan that would see a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of all 48 hostages still being held, 21 of whom are still alive, according to estimates. Forum for hostages and families of missing persons.

The exact terms of the agreement – which negotiators from Israel and Hamas traveled to Egypt to reach on Monday – remain unclear. Although under the original agreement, Hamas would have to completely disarm in exchange for an end to the Israeli military operation, more humanitarian aid to the Palestinians would be pushed into the enclave, and a cleansing operation would be planned. Reconstruction of Gaza can start.

Under these terms, Hamas would also have been granted “amnesty” to those who willingly give up their weapons, and once all the hostages were returned, Israel “250 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment will be released in addition to 1,700 Gazans arrested after October 7, 2023.”

All hostages were also supposed to be released within 72 hours of an agreement being reached – although Hamas indicated on Saturday that this may be unrealistic as it claims some of the dead are believed to be buried under the rubble.

It appears that Hamas agreed to part of the original conditions presented by the Trump administration. But she also indicated over the weekend that she had concerns about disarmament and Israel’s credibility not to re-engage in its military ambitions once the hostages return.

Details regarding various aspects of the original agreement remain vague, including regarding the international “peace council” that Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will chair to oversee Gaza’s management and reconstruction.

Trump said last week that “leaders from other countries” would be appointed to the council at a later date.

Hamas terrorists stand in formation as Palestinians gather in a street to watch the handover of three Israeli hostages to a Red Cross team in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on February 8, 2025. (Magdy Fathi/Nour Photo via Getty Images)

The 20-point plan also stipulates that the Gaza Strip for the foreseeable future “will be governed under temporary transitional rule by a technocratic, non-political Palestinian committee, responsible for providing day-to-day administration of public services and municipalities to the residents of Gaza.”

The plan that was With support from the Middle East and Arab countriesIt was presented to Hamas late last month by mediators from Qatar and Egypt.

Although both countries — along with many of the new Western nations that make up 157 of the United Nations’ 193 member states — support the establishment of a Palestinian state, the plan did not directly pave the way for how that would be achieved.

A separate committee of experts, “who helped give birth to some of the Middle East’s thriving modern miracle cities,” will develop an economic plan. Reconstruction plan.

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People participate in a protest outside a branch of the US Embassy to demand an end to the war and the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Alyan)

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Despite previous concerns about comments made by Trump and his administration, no one would be forced to leave under the latest US plan, which also prevents Israel from annexing Gaza.

Instead, according to the terms of the deal announced by the White House last week, “we will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.”

Trump warned that if Hamas did not agree to the deal, Israel would receive full support from the United States to implement its operational plans in Gaza.