January 18, 2026

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Trump announced “peace in Gaza”: Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of the agreement


US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and the group Hamas agreed to begin implementing the first stage of a peace plan to resolve the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

According to Trump, the agreement provides for the release of all hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops to the agreed demarcation line.

“It is with great pride that I announce that Israel and Hamas have signed the first phase of our peace plan. This means that all hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw its troops to the agreed line – as the first steps towards a lasting, long-term and eternal peace,” Trump wrote on his social network. Truth Social.

He thanked the mediators from Qatar, Egypt And Turkey for helping to achieve a “historic and unprecedented event” and called it “a great day for the Arab and Muslim world, Israel and the United States.”

First phase of the agreement

As reported Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatarthe parties agreed on all mechanisms for the implementation of the first phase: a ceasefire, the exchange of hostages and prisoners, as well as the opening of humanitarian corridors to Gaza. The document states that 20 living hostages held by Hamas militants will be released in the coming days, and Israel will, in response, release several hundred Palestinian prisoners.

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the government’s readiness to approve the agreement: “With God’s help, we will bring them all home,” he said, promising to convene a cabinet meeting on Thursday. The White House clarified that the release of the first hostages could begin on Monday.

The role of mediators and the United States

In negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh attended by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushnerpreviously involved in the creation of the Abraham Accords. According to BBCTrump plans to visit Egypt in the coming days to “personally cement the success of the negotiations.”

According to the Qatari side, Israel agreed to daily access to 400 humanitarian aid trucks to Gaza for the first five days, with subsequent increases in supplies. UN announced its readiness to increase its presence in the region and speed up restoration work.

International response

Secretary General UN Antonio Guterres welcomed the agreement, noting that the organization will “increase aid and intensify efforts to reconstruct Gaza.” He called on all parties to comply with the terms of the agreement, “including the release of Israeli hostages, a permanent ceasefire and immediate access for humanitarian convoys.”

Senior Palestinian sources said the truce would take effect once the agreement was approved by the Israeli government. At the same time, representatives Hamas called on Trump to “ensure compliance with the agreements reached” by Israel.

Comment

Trump’s new plan looks like an attempt to return the US to the center of Middle East diplomacy. But if the first phase actually works, it will be Washington’s biggest success in the Middle East in a decade—and the first real breakthrough in Gaza since all previous initiatives failed.



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