Videos of celebrations in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, surfaced online early Thursday morning, as U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the “first phase” of his proposed peace plan, in a Truth Social post late Wednesday.
The initial step, which still requires approval by Israel’s government, would see Israel “withdraw their troops to an agreed-upon line as the first steps toward a strong, durable, and everlasting peace,” according to Trump. In turn, Hamas will release the remaining hostages within 72 hours.
The announcement comes two years and two days after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack triggered Israel’s devastating war in Gaza. Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed since then, including roughly 20,000 children. The war also left much of the enclave in ruins and pushed parts of the Strip to the brink of famine.
On the humanitarian front, a senior Palestinian official told the BBC that Israel will allow 400 aid trucks to enter Gaza daily during the first five days of the ceasefire, with increases to follow – gradually relieving the famine that has swept through the territory in recent months.
A video posted online shows a group of journalists navigating the dark streets of Gaza City early this morning, shouting “the war has ended” to alert residents who remain without internet access.
The diplomatic breakthrough followed intense negotiations held in Cairo. Trump thanked “mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey,” who he said helped make this “historic and unprecedented event happen.”
As Gazans celebrate, they hope that Trump’s announcement marks an end to two years of the Israeli campaign that a U.N. commission recently described as genocide. However, Trump’s statement was cautious, emphasizing that the deal covers only the first phase of his 20-point plan.
