Israel and Hamas have agreed to the "first phase" of a plan to end the war in Gaza, President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, with both parties also acknowledging that a deal had been reached.
"I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
He said that under the deal "ALL of the Hostages" would be released "very soon" and that Israel would withdraw its troops to an agreed upon line in what he said would mark the "first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace."
"All Parties will be treated fairly," Trump added, calling it "a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America," as he thanks mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey for their efforts.
Hamas also confirmed an agreement in a statement Wednesday, saying the deal came following "responsible and serious negotiations between the movement and the Palestinian resistance factions."
Hamas asked "President Trump, the guarantor states of the agreement, and various Arab, Islamic, and international parties to compel the [Israeli] government to fully implement the agreement’s requirements" in its statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also acknowledged that an agreement had been reached on X, calling it a "great day for Israel."
"Tomorrow I will convene the government to approve the agreement and bring all our dear hostages home," he wrote. Netanyahu added, "I thank from the depths of my heart President Trump and his team for their mobilization for this sacred mission of releasing our hostages."
His office said in a statement that he had spoken with Trump and invited him to address the Knesset.
Questions remain, however, about the long-term future of the Gaza Strip, with uncertainty over calls for Hamas to disband as well as the future governance of the enclave.
The Israeli military said Thursday it had begun operational preparations ahead of the implementation of the ceasefire deal. It added that “combat protocol” were underway to transition to “adjusted deployment lines soon.”
It said troops would continue to be deployed in the area until then and were prepared for any operational developments.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the families of hostages held in Gaza, said families welcomed the news of the possible release of their loved ones “with a mix of excitement, anticipation, and concern.”
“The Hostages Families Forum welcomes the signing of this agreement, designed to bring all the hostages home — the living for rehabilitation with their families, and the deceased for proper burial in their homeland,” the group said in a statement.
It said 48 hostages remain to be returned. Israel has said it believes 20 are still alive.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres expressed support for the agreement in a statement.
“The United Nations will support the full implementation of the agreement and will scale up the delivery of sustained and principled humanitarian relief, and we will advance recovery and reconstruction efforts in Gaza,” the statement said. Guterres added, "The stakes have never been higher."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that Trump would be "considering going to the Middle East" after meeting with “the troops” at Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday and having his "routine yearly check up.”
Trump already underwent what was described as his annual physical examination at the military hospital on April 11, with a memo released by White House physician Sean Barbabella two days later saying he was in “excellent health."
Trump had said earlier that he may travel to the Middle East at the end of the week.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio passed a note to the president at a White House gathering with reporters and walked over to speak to him.
“I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they’re going to need me pretty quickly," Trump said.
Hamas had expressed optimism about the talks earlier on Wednesday.
“A spirit of optimism prevails among all,” it said after it submitted a list of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for Israeli hostages under the U.S. plan.
The release of those still held in Gaza and 1,950 Palestinian prisoners is a crucial part of Trump’s 20-point proposal.
Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law — along with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani — arrived on the third day of talks after Israel and the Palestinians marked the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks and the devastating conflict that followed.
A meeting on the future of Gaza will be held in Paris on Thursday, a French diplomatic source briefed on the matter told NBC News.
Representatives have been invited from the U.K., Germany, Italy, Spain, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Indonesia, Canada, Turkey and the office of the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs, the source said.
The source was not aware of any U.S. representatives who would attend.
Qatar wants international guarantees, led by the United States, that what is negotiated in Egypt will lead to Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, the entry of more aid and a permanent end to the war, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told the Saudi Arabian news channel al-Hadath on Tuesday.
But Israel's far-right security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, urged Netanyahu to pursue "complete victory" over Hamas in Gaza in a video on X that was recorded by the mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.
Another video showed him praying at the compound, his latest challenge to a decades-old understanding allowing only Muslim worship at the site.
Israel has continued its assault on Gaza while the talks have been taking place. Its military campaign has killed more than 67,000 people, reducing much of the enclave to rubble, after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken to Gaza as hostages.
There were somber gatherings across Israel on Tuesday to mark the attacks, including in the country’s south, where families and friends paid their respects to the more than 370 victims killed at the Nova music festival.
Palestinians, meanwhile, reflected on two years of brutal conflict and their hopes for an end to the devastation.
Alaa Abu Daraz and her children left their home in eastern Gaza on Oct. 7, and two years later they have yet to return, living on the streets as they seek safety.
“Our children are left in the streets, with no tent, no shelter, not even a blanket,” she told NBC News this week. “We managed through the summer and survived the heat, but the winter is unbearable; one cannot live or do anything in these conditions.”
Israel has faced mounting global isolation over its assault.
The Israeli army intercepted a new aid flotilla bound for Gaza that included a number of Americans on Wednesday, days after the detention of activists on board a high-profile flotilla fueled international outrage.
Eight U.S. citizens were "likely abducted" by Israeli forces on international waters, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said Wednesday.
