Israel, Hamas agreed on maps of the IDF’s withdrawal from Gaza • PM Netanyahu: With God’s help, we will bring them all home
(photo credit: REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to bring all hostages home shortly before US President Donald Trump announced early on Thursday that Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas had agreed to a deal to end the war in Gaza and release all remaining hostages.
“With God’s help, we will bring them all home,” Netanyahu said shortly before US President Donald Trump’s announcement.
Netanyahu added that he would convene the security cabinet at noon to approve the deal. The government is expected to vote on the matter afterwards.
A source with knowledge told The Jerusalem Post that the two parties have agreed on maps of the IDF’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and have mostly agreed on the details of the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The deal will be signed at noon in Egypt, Saudi Arabian outlet Al-Hadath reported.
Trump, Netanyahu speak on the phone
Netanyahu and Trump spoke shortly after the president announced the deal on Thursday.
A press release from the Prime Minister’s Office said the two “held a very emotional and warm conversation, congratulating each other on the historic achievement of signing the agreement for the release of all the hostages.”
Trump told Axios that he would give a speech at the Knesset during a visit to the Middle East over the weekend.
“They want me to give a speech at the Knesset and I will definitely do that if they want me to,” Trump told Axios in a phone interview.
“It is a great day for Israel and for the world. My call with Bibi was great. He is so happy. He should be. It is a great achievement. The whole world has come together to reach this deal, including countries that were enemies,” he added.
Before Trump’s announcement, images of the negotiators shaking hands circulated on Arab media, showing the head of IDF’s hostages headquarters Maj.-Gen. Nitzan Alon shaking hands with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
Hamas said in a statement that “it has reached an agreement to end the war on Gaza, ensure the occupation’s withdrawal, allow the entry of humanitarian aid, and implement a prisoner exchange.”
“We highly value the efforts of our brothers, the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, as well as the efforts of US President Donald Trump aimed at permanently ending the war and securing the full withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip,” the statement added.
What are the details of Donald Trump’s Gaza deal?
A Palestinian source told al-Araby al-Jadeed that all of the remaining 20 living hostages will be released in a single batch during the first phase of the deal.
Sky News Arabia reported that the parties landed on a full ceasefire deal with a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army from 70% of Gaza alongside a simultaneous release of prisoners.
An agreement was reached on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al-Ansari, said on Thursday.
The details will be announced later, Ansari added in a post on X.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post