Israel and Hamas agree to 'first phase' of plan to end fighting and release hostages, Trump says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel and Hamas have agreed to the “first phase” of his peace plan to pause fighting and release at least some hostages and prisoners, U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday.

“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,” Trump wrote. “All Parties will be treated fairly!"

Negotiators have been meeting in Egypt for days to hash out a Trump-backed peace plan that he hopes will ultimately result in a permanent end to the two-year war and bring about a sustainable peace in the region.

The initial agreement was confirmed by Israeli officials and Hamas, as well as mediator Qatar. It was not immediately clear whether the parties had made any progress on thornier questions about the future of the conflict, including whether Hamas will demilitarize, as Trump has demanded, and eventual governance of the war-torn territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on social media, "With God’s help we will bring them all home."

The war began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, many of them civilians. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead, devastated Gaza and upended global politics.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

CAIRO (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he's considering a trip to the Middle East within a matter of days, a major show of optimism as top officials from the U.S. and Qatar traveled to an Egyptian resort for the third day of ongoing negotiations to end the Israel-Hamas war.

“I may go there sometime toward the end of the week,” Trump said from the White House as he opened a roundtable event on a different matter. The trip could occur Sunday, Trump said, adding that “negotiations are going along very well.”

Yet another hint of a deal came later in that event when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio passed Trump a note on White House stationery that read, “You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.” Truth Social is the president’s preferred social media platform.

The note prompted Trump to proclaim, “We’re very close to a deal in the Middle East.”

The arrival of Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, on Wednesday at Sharm el-Sheikh for the discussions, as well as Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, was a sign that negotiators aim to dive deeply into the toughest issues of an American plan to end the war in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top adviser, Ron Dermer, is also present for the talks.

Hamas says it's seeking firm guarantees from mediators that Israel won't resume its military campaign in the Palestinian territory after the militant group releases all the remaining hostages.

All sides have expressed optimism for a deal to end the two-year war that has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and most of the Gaza Strip destroyed. But key parts of the peace plan still haven't been agreed to, including a requirement that Hamas disarm, the timing and extent of an Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, and the creation of an international body to run the territory after Hamas steps down.