President-elect Donald Trump was the first to announce a ceasefire deal was reached in Gaza between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday.
Israeli officials soon confirmed an agreement was in place to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas since the October 7 atrocities.
“We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you!” Trump said on Truth Social, his preferred social media platform, at just after noon Eastern.
“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could only have happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies,” Trump elaborated in a follow-up message, with caps as in the original.
“With this deal in place, my National Security team, through the efforts of Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven,” he said.
Witkoff traveled to Doha, Qatar, along with representatives of the outgoing Biden administration over the weekend to work with mediators from Israel and Hamas on a deal. Sources familiar with the meetings credited Trump’s influence with breaking a long deadlock and setting the stage for the “midnight breakthrough” on Sunday that made a deal possible.
A senior Israeli official told the Times of Israel (TOI) on Wednesday that Hamas “folded on the issue of the Philadelphi Corridor,” making an agreement possible.
“However the framework has not been completely finalized and there are still a number of details that have not been finalized,” the official said, a few minutes after Trump wrote his triumphant social media post.
The Philadelphi Corridor is a narrow, barren strip of land on the Gaza side of its border with Egypt. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long insisted Israel must retain control of this territory after any ceasefire agreement, to prevent Hamas from using tunnels to smuggle more weapons into Gaza.
Israeli sources said Hamas almost scuttled the emerging ceasefire and hostage agreement at the eleventh hour by demanding Israel withdraw from much of the Philadelphi courier. Hamas evidently withdrew these demands soon after making them.
TOI reported that senior Hamas official Basem Naim confirmed Hamas has accepted the deal. The Israeli security cabinet is reportedly set to meet at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday to approve the agreement, with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar cutting short a visit to Europe and racing home from Hungary to attend the meeting.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog is meeting with Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric to discuss transferring Israeli hostages and seeing to their medical needs.
Update 1:05 p.m. Eastern: A senior Arab official from one of the “mediating countries,” presumably Qatar or Egypt, told the Times of Israel that a few “minor” issues with the agreement still need to be resolved, including Israel’s process for vetting the approximately 1,000 Palestinian prisoners it has agreed to release. Some of those prisoners are currently serving life sentences for severe offenses. According to the Arab official, Hamas has agreed to let Israel release those prisoners to an “agreed-upon third country.”
The Jerusalem Post reported the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli Defense Ministry have been ordered to prepare on operation called “Sparrow’s Wings” to retrieve hostages freed by Hamas, and then begin withdrawing from Gaza.
Update, 1:20 p.m. Eastern: The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to news of an agreement by saying a ceasefire deal “still has not been reached,” because some “final details” are still being resolved.
Update, 1:35 p.m. Eastern: Egyptian state media reported that preparations are being made to “open the Palestinian rafah crossing to allow the entry of international aid” into Gaza. Egypt will then attempt to “bring in the largest possible amount of aid to the Gaza Strip.”
Gaza’s civil defense agency has asked residents to avoid celebratory gunfire as news of the agreement spreads.
“We call upon you to refrain from firing bullets in the air for fear of injuring the displaced people in the tents and shelters. We do not want to be saddened by more martyrs and wounded,” the agency said.
