What will the first phase of the Gaza peace plan look like – and what’s next?
3062 Mins Read
Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of the Gaza peace plan late last night.
He said on Truth Social: “This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.”
The Israeli government will ratify the ceasefire deal – expected this evening – after which the fighting should stop.
This is arecap of what it is supposed to establish, according to Donald Trump’s initial 20-point proposal.
What should happen next:
Once an agreement is ratified by both sides, a ceasefire will immediately come into effect;
Israel will withdraw within 24 hours to the agreed upon line – Hamas said this will happen tomorrow;
Within 72 hours after that, all the Israeli hostages, alive and dead, will be released by Hamas – Israel says this could be on Sunday or Monday;
Once all the hostages are released, Israel will free 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 Gazans detained after October 7;
Humanitarian aid entering Gaza will increase to up to 600 trucks a day, according to both sides.
What remains pending:
Israel’s government still needs to ratify the agreement, which is supposed to happen at a security cabinet meeting at 3pm UK time;
The ceasefire needs to take hold and last beyond the release of the hostages and the prisoners for the second phase to be initiated;
Hamas said that the mediators have provided guarantees to assure that the agreement won’t be violated once its main leverage is gone;
Hamas will have to disarm, according to the plan’s second phase, but has not discussed this yet;
Gaza’s future governance remains uncertain, as Hamas says it will only relinquish its rule to a Palestinian government, not the plan’s international board.
