WASHINGTON/CAIRO: Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, a ceasefire and hostage deal that could open the way to ending a bloody two-year-old war that has upended the Middle East.
Just a day after the second anniversary of the cross-border attack by Hamas militants that triggered Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza, indirect talks in Egypt yielded an agreement on the initial stage of Trump’s 20-point framework to bring peace to the Palestinian enclave.
The signing of the agreement on the first stage is expected to take place at 12 p.m. Jerusalem time (0900 GMT), a source briefed on the details of the agreement told Reuters on Thursday.
The accord, if fully implemented, would bring the two sides closer than any previous effort to halt a war that had evolved into a regional conflict, drawing in countries such as Iran, Yemen and Lebanon, deepened Israel’s international isolation and reshaped the Middle East.
But the deal announced by Trump late on Wednesday was short on detail and left many unresolved questions that could still lead to its collapse, as has happened with previous peace efforts.
