United States ruler Donald Trump has announced that both Hamas and Israel have accepted the first step of his peace plan. Trump is hailing this as a breakthrough in the conflict, and both sides have accepted phase one of the deal.
The White House released a 20-point peace plan last month for ending the Gaza conflict, which called for an immediate ceasefire, a hostage-for-prisoner release, Hamas disarmament, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian enclave.
According to a report by RT, in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump said the militant group has consented to release all Israeli hostages, while Israel has agreed to withdraw from Gaza “to an agreed-upon line.”
“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan,” the US president said, calling the decisions the “first steps towards a strong, durable, and everlasting peace.”
He thanked the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Türkiye for their part in the talks. The indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas have been ongoing in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, since Monday.
“I may go [to the Middle East] sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday, actually,” he said during a White House event, adding that the talks have been “going along very well.”
The war has been raging for over two years now, after Hamas killed around 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages in the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Since then, more than 69,100 people have been killed overall in the conflict, with 67,144 of them being Palestinians.
Both sides do appear to be closer to a peace deal than they have been in months. It still isn’t clear who will control Gaza once a deal is reached and what will become of the reconstruction efforts.
As of October 2nd, roughly 60% of buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or damaged since October 12, 2023, according to an analysis of satellite imagery by researchers at Oregon State University. A CBC Canada report stated that the United Nations estimates roughly 78% of all structures in the Gaza Strip were destroyed or damaged as of July 8th of this year.
One thing is sure: much of Gaza is uninhabitable thanks to incessant bombings.
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