On Thursday, Israel announced that all concerned parties signed in Egypt the final draft agreement on the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan regarding Gaza, marking a crucial step towards ending the two-year-long war in the besieged and devastated Palestinian enclave, which has caused tens of thousands of deaths and a humanitarian catastrophe.

Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Badran told journalists Thursday afternoon, “The final draft of the first phase was signed this morning in Egypt by all parties to release all hostages” held in Gaza since Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023.

Badran explained to AFP that “all our hostages, both alive and deceased, will be released within a maximum of 72 hours after the ceasefire comes into effect, by Monday.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the release of hostages “should put an end to the war.”

The Israeli security cabinet is expected to approve the agreement, according to the government spokesperson, who noted that the agreement will only come into effect “within 24 hours” after approval.

Both far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir opposed the agreement, expressing rejection of releasing Palestinian detainees.

The spokesperson also noted that within 24 hours of the ceasefire taking effect, Israeli forces will withdraw from some areas they occupy but will maintain control over 53% of Gaza’s territory.

Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, who survived an Israeli attack last month in Doha, confirmed that the Palestinian movement received “guarantees from the brotherly mediators and the U.S. administration, all confirming that the war has completely ended.”

The announcement came after four days of indirect negotiations away from the spotlight in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, involving American, Egyptian, Turkish, and Qatari mediators.

Meanwhile, Trump announced plans to travel to the Middle East on Sunday. He told reporters in the Oval Office, “The hostages will return Monday or Tuesday. I will probably be there. I hope to be there. We plan to leave sometime Sunday and I look forward to it.”

He also emphasized that “no one will be forced to leave” Gaza under his plan.

Celebrations

Since dawn, Palestinian youths gathered outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, singing and dancing to national songs, rejoicing over the agreement ending two years of war in their besieged and devastated sector.

Ayman al-Najjar told AFP, “Despite the wounds and the genocide we endured and the loss of loved ones and relatives, we are happy and our joy is great because of the ceasefire.”

In “Hostages Square” in Tel Aviv, thousands of Israelis gathered jubilantly hoping for the hostages’ return after two years of waiting and anxiety.

Rachel Perry told AFP, “We all came from the office here because we simply cannot concentrate or work. It is a day Israel has waited for two years, every second, every day.”

Of the 251 people kidnapped and taken to Gaza during Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, 47 hostages remain held, including at least 25 killed, according to the Israeli army.

The Israeli military campaign in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused a wide humanitarian disaster in the enclave.

On Thursday evening, AFP reporters and witnesses heard explosions and artillery fire in central and southern Gaza.

In this context, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called on Israel to “calm down or cease fire” until the agreement is signed, considering that continued raids “may not be in line with the spirit of the agreement.”

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said the rebels will closely monitor whether the agreement is actually implemented before stopping operations against the Israeli state.

A Palestinian official said living hostages will be released in exchange for about two thousand Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, alongside specific Israeli withdrawals from Gaza and allowing more humanitarian aid, without mentioning the fate of deceased hostages.

The Israeli army announced it is preparing to reposition its forces inside Gaza.

During a Thursday phone call, the Israeli Prime Minister thanked the U.S. President “for his global leadership efforts that made all this possible,” according to the Israeli government spokesperson, considering, like the Egyptian president, that Trump “deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Next Phase

A Hamas official said negotiations on the second phase of Trump’s plan will start “immediately” after signing the first phase agreement.

Trump’s 20-point plan, in addition to the ceasefire and hostage release, stipulates that Gaza affairs be managed by a Palestinian technocratic committee supervised by a “Peace Council” chaired by Trump and including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, with Hamas having no role in governing the enclave.

However, Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said Thursday in an interview with Qatar-based Al Arabi TV that the movement rejects this proposal, saying “No Palestinian accepts this, all factions including the Palestinian Authority reject it.”

Trump also confirmed that disarmament will be part of the second phase of the Gaza agreement, amid Israel’s insistence that Hamas must relinquish its weapons.

The movement had agreed to release hostages and have an independent Palestinian body manage Gaza but did not address disarmament, stressing the need to discuss the plan’s provisions related to “the future of the enclave.”

Two previous truces in November 2023 and early 2025 allowed for exchanges of hostages and Palestinian detainees.