Trump announces deal reached on first part of his Gaza plan: ‘All hostages will be freed very soon’

‘Blessed are the peacemakers,’ Trump says, hailing ‘great day for Israel, the world’; all living hostages set to be released in next few days; Trump to fly to region, will likely come to Israel, address Knesset

US President Donald Trump announced late on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas have signed off on the “first phase” of his plan to secure the release of all hostages and end the Gaza war, two years and a day after the fighting was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel. “This means that ALL of the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw [its] troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a strong, durable and everlasting Peace,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

He later hailed the accord as “a great day for the world,” saying, “The whole world has come together on this one, Israel, every country has come together. This has been a fantastic day… a wonderful day for everybody.” Trump told Fox News that all the hostages would probably be released on Monday. “We think they will all be coming back on Monday… and that will include the bodies of the dead,” he said. “They [the hostages] are in a terrible situation there. They are deep, deep in the earth. As we speak, so much is happening to get the hostages freed.”

Two sources familiar with the negotiations earlier told The Times of Israel that Hamas would release all the remaining living hostages on Saturday. Twenty of the remaining 48 hostages are believed to be alive. All slain hostages that Hamas is able to locate are also to be released.

“This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim world, Israel, all surrounding nations, and the United States of America; and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, who worked with us to make this historic and unprecedented event happen,” Trump continued. (Read More)