Israel and Hamas have agreed to an exchange of the remaining Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip for Palestinian prisoners, President Trump announced on Wednesday. But as people across the Middle East woke up to news of the agreement on Thursday morning, many of its details were still unclear.
Mr. Trump said on social media that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a 20-point peace plan that he presented at the end of September. The announcement emerged from negotiations between Israel and Hamas that Egypt, Qatar and the United States helped to mediate.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said he would convene his cabinet on Thursday to sign off on the agreement. Hamas said the deal would lead to the end of the war and Israel’s withdrawal from the territory, and indicated that it would allow for the entry of aid into Gaza.
But none of the parties to the talks have said when the deal will come into effect, when hostages will be released or when aid deliveries will be allowed into the territory.
Here’s what we know.
The agreement covers an exchange of hostages and prisoners.
The first phase of Mr. Trump’s peace plan requires hostages and prisoners to be exchanged within 72 hours of a cease-fire. Mr. Trump said on Wednesday that the hostages would be released “very soon.” Israeli troops would also pull back, he said.
But Mr. Trump did not say when the cease-fire would begin or where the Israeli line of withdrawal would be.
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The post What We Know About the Hostage Deal Between Israel and Hamas appeared first on New York Times.
