The agreement between Israel and Hamas calls for an initial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the release of some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Twenty surviving Israeli hostages are to be released after two years of captivity, and 28 dead hostages are to be handed over.
It was signed by Israel, Hamas, and mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey on Thursday, but needed approval from Israel’s cabinet to proceed, which it received.
President Trump’s ambassadors Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner joined the cabinet meeting, along with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A ceasefire in Gaza went into effect immediately after the agreement was approved.
The Israeli military is to withdraw its forces to the agreed-upon perimeter in Gaza within 24 hours of the agreement’s approval. It is expected to be completed by Friday. As part of the agreement, the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt will reopen in both directions. The crossing will be operated by a joint Egyptian-European force for the time being.
Hamas must then release all remaining hostages within 72 hours. This must be completed by Monday.
After that, Israel will release 250 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life in prison for killing Israelis. They will be transferred either to Gaza or to Arab and Muslim countries.
Israel will also release 1,700 Palestinians whom the Israel Defense Forces arrested in Gaza after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
In exchange for the bodies of 28 dead hostages, Israel will return the bodies of 360 Palestinians killed in fighting in Gaza.
Hamas has said it will need more time to recover all the bodies of the dead hostages. Israeli officials have insisted that this is a false claim. Under the agreement, Israel, the United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey will form a task force to recover bodies not recovered by Hamas.
Israel has refused to release several high-ranking Palestinian prisoners whom Hamas considers symbolic, such as Marwan Barghouti, the former leader of Fatah in the West Bank.
Hamas’s chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, declared in a speech on Thursday that the war in Gaza was over and a permanent ceasefire had begun.
He stressed that Hamas has received assurances from the United States and mediators from Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt that the war is entirely over and that Israel will not unilaterally resume it.
Wittkoff and Kushner met in Cairo on Thursday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who invited Trump to visit Cairo in the coming days for a signing ceremony.
President Trump announced that he will travel to the Middle East on Sunday and visit Egypt and Israel. He told Axios that he will “probably” address the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
