Israel agrees to Gaza withdrawal line, ceasefire to begin once Hamas confirms:Trump
Washington DC: Delegations from Israel, Hamas and the United States are preparing to meet in Cairo to finalise a Gaza ceasefire deal, following both sides’ agreement to proceed with a US-mediated proposal to end the nearly two-year-long conflict.
President Donald Trump said Israel had accepted an initial “withdrawal line” inside Gaza, calling it a step towards ending a “3,000-year catastrophe.” He added that a ceasefire would come into force “immediately” after Hamas confirms the plan, paving the way for a hostage-prisoner exchange and phased Israeli withdrawal.
Despite Trump’s statement that Israel had “temporarily stopped bombing” the enclave, health officials in Gaza reported at least 70 deaths on Saturday from Israeli air strikes, including seven children. Forty-five of those killed were in Gaza City, where an air strike on a residential home in the Tuffah neighbourhood killed 18 people and wounded several others. Another attack on a displacement camp in southern Gaza’s al-Mawasi area killed two children and injured eight.
In his post on social media, Trump said: “I appreciate that Israel has temporarily stopped the bombing in order to give the hostage release and peace deal a chance to be completed. Hamas must move quickly or else all bets will be off.” He later added that once Hamas confirms, “the ceasefire will be immediately effective, the hostages and prisoner exchange will begin, and we will create the conditions for the next phase of withdrawal.”
A White House official confirmed that Trump is dispatching Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Egypt to coordinate with Egyptian mediators. Delegations from Hamas and Israel are expected to join the Cairo discussions on Monday.
Hamas has reportedly agreed in principle to parts of the plan, including Israel’s pullout from Gaza and the exchange of roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners for Israeli captives. However, the group has yet to commit to disarmament — a key condition in Washington’s proposal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that negotiators will work on a release timeline for remaining hostages, reiterating that Hamas must be disarmed “either through Trump’s proposal or through Israeli military action.”
Meanwhile, foreign ministers from Qatar, Egypt, the UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey welcomed Hamas’s response to Trump’s initiative, calling it “a real opportunity to achieve a comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire.”
Hamas, however, accused Israel of continuing its “crimes” despite international appeals. “The Zionist occupation army continues to commit horrific massacres against our Palestinian people in Gaza,” the group said, urging Arab and Islamic states to act swiftly to protect civilians.
(With agency inputs)