U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have reached a phase one agreement on the "Gaza peace initiative."
On the 8th (local time), President Trump said on his social media, Truth Social, "I am proud to share that Israel and Hamas have both agreed to phase one of our peace plan."
He added, "This is the first step toward strong, lasting, and permanent peace, meaning all hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw its forces to the agreed lines," and emphasized, "All parties will be treated fairly."
Earlier, on the 29th of last month, President Trump unveiled the "Gaza peace initiative," which included the following to end the roughly two-year war between Israel and Hamas: ▲ the release of all hostages within 72 hours ▲ Israel's phased withdrawal ▲ a postwar governance framework for the Gaza Strip.
In response, Israel and Hamas have been holding talks since the 6th in Sharm el-Sheikh, an Egyptian Red Sea resort, under the mediation of Egypt, Qatar, and others.
He added, "Today is a very great day for Arab and Islamic countries, Israel, all neighboring countries, and the United States," and thanked the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Türkiye "for working with us to make something historic and unprecedented possible."