President Donald Trump announced Saturday afternoon that Israel has agreed to a proposed withdrawal line, and that a ceasefire will begin if and when Hamas agrees.
Trump shared a map depicting the proposed withdrawal line in a post on Truth Social.
“After negotiations, Israel has agreed to the initial withdrawal line, which we have shown to, and shared with, Hamas,” he wrote.
“When Hamas confirms, the Ceasefire will be IMMEDIATELY effective, the Hostages and Prisoner Exchange will begin, and we will create the conditions for the next phase of withdrawal, which will bring us close to the end of this 3,000 YEAR CATASTROPHE,” he added.
On Friday morning, Trump gave Hamas a deadline of 6:00 p.m. ET Sunday to reach a peace deal, otherwise “all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas.”
Hours later, Hamas agreed to enter into peace negotiations and announced it was ready to release the remaining hostages, as Al Jazeera noted:
The Palestinian group says that, in order to end Israel’s war on Gaza and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave, it is ready to release all Israeli captives – both those who are living and dead – according to the exchange plan outlined in Trump’s proposal.
“In this context, the movement affirms its readiness to immediately enter into negotiations through the mediators to discuss the details of this agreement,” Hamas said in a statement shared on Telegram.
It also said it agrees to hand over the administration of Gaza to an independent body of Palestinian technocrats, “based on Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support”.
Soon after, Trump said he believes Hamas is ready for an enduring peace and asked Israel to cease bombing in Gaza.
He also released a video recorded from the Oval Office, in which he stated that peace in the Middle East is within reach.
Trump expressed gratitude to other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan, for helping to foster the potential for serious talks.
“I just want to let you know that this is a very special day–maybe unprecedented. In many ways, it is unprecedented, but thank you all, and thank you all to those great countries that helped. We were given a tremendous amount of help,” he told Americans.
“Everybody was unified in wanting this war to end and seeing peace in the Middle East, and we’re very close to achieving that. Thank you all, and everybody will be treated fairly,” he concluded.
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