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President Donald Trump on Saturday announced Israel has agreed to the “initial withdrawal line” in Gaza, which the U.S. has shared with Hamas.
Pending Hamas confirmation, the agreement will trigger an immediate ceasefire and exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
“After negotiations, Israel has agreed to the initial withdrawal line, which we have shown to, and shared with, Hamas. When 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, which will bring us close to the end of this 3,000 YEAR CATASTROPHE,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Saturday. “Thank you for your attention to this matter and, STAY TUNED!”
The announcement comes hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement Saturday morning noting they were “on the verge of a very great achievement.”
“It is not yet final; we are working on it diligently, and I hope, with God’s help, that in the coming days, during the Sukkot holiday, I will be able to inform you about the return of all our hostages, both living and deceased, in one phase, while the IDF remains deep within the Strip and in the controlling areas within it,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu claimed that after intense military and diplomatic pressure, Hamas was pressured into agreeing to Israel’s proposed plan — rejecting the fact that Hamas had previously been ready to release the Israeli hostages without a full withdrawal from Gaza.
In the first stage of the withdrawal plan, he said Hamas will release all Israeli hostages while the IDF redeploys but maintains control over key strategic areas deep inside the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu will send his negotiating team, headed by Minister Ron Dermer, to Egypt to finalize the technical details of the hostage release, which he expects to conclude within a few days.
The prime minister emphasized that both Israel and the U.S. intend to prevent any stalling or delay tactics by Hamas.
In the second stage of the plan, Netanyahu said Hamas will be disarmed and the Gaza strip demilitarized—either through diplomatic means under the Trump Plan or, if necessary, by military force.
“I also said this in Washington: Either it will be achieved the easy way, or it will be achieved the hard way—but it will be achieved,” he said.
“Together, we pushed back our enemies’ plans of destruction. From Gaza to Rafah, from Beirut to Damascus, from Yemen to Tehran, together we have achieved great things,” Netanyahu added. “From victory to victory—we are changing the face of the Middle East together. Together we will continue to act to ensure the eternity of Israel.”
Netanyahu thanked Trump for his assistance in dispatching the B2 planes to bomb the nuclear facility in Fordo, and for his “steadfast support.”
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