Qatar, a key mediator in the ceasefire talks, confirmed the development, saying an agreement has been reached on “all the provisions and implementation mechanisms” of the first phase of a ceasefire plan.
“The mediators announce that tonight an agreement was reached on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid. The details will be announced later,” Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari wrote on X.
The announcement came hours after Trump said negotiations were going “very well” and that he may travel to the Middle East later this week.
Hamas said in a public statement that it has concluded an “agreement stipulating an end to the war on Gaza, the occupation’s withdrawal from it, the entry of aid, and a prisoner exchange”.
The Israeli regime’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he would convene his government on Thursday to approve the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Senior officials from Qatar, Turkey, Egypt and the US joined the delegations in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday, the third day of the talks, as the mediators pressed the two sides to resolve their differences over Trump’s 20-point proposal.
The Hamas delegation includes leaders Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin, two negotiators who survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Qatar’s capital Doha that killed five people last month.
The first phase of the plan calls for a ceasefire and the release of 48 Israeli captives held in Gaza, including 20 who are believed to be alive, and the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Gaza’s Government Media Office said in a statement on Wednesday that Israel carried out 271 air and artillery strikes over the past five days despite calls from the US to stop the bombardment. The attacks targeted densely populated areas and shelters for displaced people across the enclave, killing 126 civilians, including women and children – with 75 of them in Gaza City alone.
The Zionist regime’s war on Gaza has killed at least 67,183 people and wounded 169,841 since October 2023. Thousands more are believed to be buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings, Al Jazeera reported.