Israel and Hamas agree to ‘first phase’ of peace plan, Trump says

Israel and Hamas have agreed to the “first phase” of his peace plan to pause fighting and release at least some hostages and prisoners, U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday in announcing the outlines of the biggest breakthrough in months in the two-year-old war.

“This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace,” Trump wrote on social media. “All Parties will be treated fairly!”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on social media, “With God’s help we will bring them all home.” Hamas said separately that the deal would ensure the withdrawal of Israeli troops as well as allow for the entry of aid and exchange of hostages and prisoners.

Hamas plans to release all 20 living hostages this weekend, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press, while the Israeli military will begin a withdrawal from the majority of Gaza.

It was not immediately clear whether the parties had made any progress on thornier questions about the future of the conflict, including whether Hamas will demilitarize, as Trump has demanded, and eventual governance of the war-torn territory. But the agreement nonetheless marked the most momentous development since a deal in January and February that involved the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The deal was solidified in Egypt after days of negotiations centered on a Trump-backed peace plan that he hopes will ultimately result in a permanent end to the war and bring about a sustainable peace in the region.

The war began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, many of them civilians, and took 251 hostage. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead, devastated Gaza and upended global politics.

Trump expressed optimism earlier in the day by saying that he was considering a trip to the Middle East within a matter of days.

Yet another hint of a deal came later in that event when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio passed Trump a note on White House stationery that read, “You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.” Truth Social is the president’s preferred social media platform.

The note prompted Trump to proclaim, “We’re very close to a deal in the Middle East.”

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周三宣布了以色列和哈马斯和平计划的“第一阶段”计划，该计划旨在暂停战斗并释放至少一部分人质和囚犯，这是这场持续两年的战争数月来取得的最大突破。

“这意味着所有人质将很快获释，以色列将把军队撤至双方商定的界线，这是迈向强大、持久和永久和平的第一步，”特朗普在社交媒体上写道。“各方都将得到公平对待！”

以色列总理内塔尼亚胡在社交媒体上表示：“在上帝的帮助下，我们将把他们全部带回家。”哈马斯则另行表示，该协议将确保以色列军队撤出，并允许援助物资入境以及交换人质和战俘。

据知情人士向美联社透露，哈马斯计划在本周末释放全部 20 名在世人质，而以色列军队将开始从加沙的大部分地区撤军。

目前尚不清楚各方是否在有关冲突未来走向的棘手问题上取得了任何进展，包括哈马斯是否会像特朗普要求的那样解除武装，以及最终如何治理这片饱受战争蹂躏的地区。但无论如何，这项协议标志着自今年1月和2月达成协议以来最重要的进展，该协议涉及释放以色列人质以换取巴勒斯坦囚犯。

经过数天的谈判，这项协议在埃及最终敲定。谈判的核心是特朗普支持的和平计划，他希望该计划最终能够永久结束战争，并为该地区带来可持续的和平。

这场战争始于2023年10月7日哈马斯对以色列的袭击，造成约1200人死亡，其中许多是平民，并劫持了251名人质。以色列的报复性军事行动导致数万巴勒斯坦人丧生，加沙地带满目疮痍，并颠覆了全球政治格局。

特朗普当天早些时候表达了乐观态度，称他正在考虑在几天内访问中东。

随后，美国国务卿马可·卢比奥递给特朗普一张白宫信笺，上面写着：“您需要尽快批准Truth Social上的一条帖子，以便您能率先宣布协议。”这似乎又暗示了达成协议的可能性。Truth Social是总统最喜欢的社交媒体平台。

这份备忘录促使特朗普宣称：“我们距离在中东达成协议已经非常接近了。”