What do we know about the first phase of Trump's Gaza ceasefire deal?

US President Donald Trump has announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of his Gaza peace plan, ending weeks of negotiations and two years of genocidal Israeli war.

The announcement comes almost exactly two years after a relentless and indiscriminate Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip which has killed at least 67,183 Palestinians, although the true death toll is likely much higher, and displaced most of Gaza's population multiple times, with tens of thousands also injured.

Trump said that the two sides had "signed off on the first phase" of his 20-point Gaza peace plan, following three days of indirect negotiations in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The meetings were attended by Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, US envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, Egypt’s intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, Turkey’s Ibrahim Kalin, as well as senior Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya.

Delegations from Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) also took part, while Israel was represented by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close ally of Benjamin Netanyahu.

What the first phase includes

According to details obtained by The New Arab's sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed and other sources, the first phase of the ceasefire will begin with an immediate halt to hostilities, followed by Israel's withdrawal to an agreed line inside the Gaza Strip within the next 24 hours.

Exactly 72 hours after the ceasefire takes effect, Hamas will release 20 Israeli captives alive in a single batch, and in return, Israel will free over 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences and 1,700 detained since the start of the war in October 2023.

The handover of the bodies of deceased Israeli captives will follow once Israeli forces vacate Gaza's residential areas and city centres.

The agreement also provides for the reopening of five crossings to allow humanitarian and relief aid into Gaza, with at least 400 trucks entering daily during the first five days.

This figure is expected to increase as the truce implementation progresses, while displaced Palestinians will also be allowed to return from southern Gaza to Gaza City and other northern areas of the Gaza Strip.

According to the Israeli broadcasters, three Israeli military divisions operating in Gaza City and northern refugee camps began an organised withdrawal overnight, redeploying along the so-called "yellow line" mapped in Trump’s plan.

That line extends from the centre of Gaza City through Beit Lahia and Jabalia, passing along Salah al-Din Street through the Bureij and al-Maghazi refugee camps, Deir al-Balah, and Khan Younis, and reaching the northwestern outskirts of Rafah.

Israeli Army Radio confirmed that units had halted their advance on Gaza City and were now focused on "removing threats and securing the withdrawal route". A senior military source told Reuters that troops were "preparing to move to modified deployment lines" as part of the first phase.

Once the ceasefire takes hold, negotiations on the second phase of Trump's plan are set to begin immediately. This stage involves the creation of an international "Peace Council" to oversee Gaza's reconstruction and administration, which will be chaired by Trump and include figures such as controversial former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

A Palestinian official said this step is expected to mark "the formal end of the war and the beginning of a new phase of calm and reconstruction".

Guarantees and implementation

The deal was reached with direct guarantees from the US, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey that the war will not resume if both parties comply with its terms, who will act as sponsors and monitors of the ceasefire to ensure compliance.

Trump is expected to formally declare the ceasefire a "permanent end to the war" once the legal review of the deal is completed.

However a previous ceasefire agreed in January was violated after two months by Israel and there are still fears that the same thing could happen again.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, said his government would meet on Thursday to discuss the deal before it is presented to the full cabinet for a vote, where it is expected to be approved despite strong opposition from his far-right allies.

Following the announcement, Hamas confirmed that the agreement includes "an end to the war on Gaza, the occupation’s withdrawal, the entry of aid and a prisoner exchange".

The group thanked the mediators for their role and urged "the occupation government to fully implement the agreement’s requirements and not evade or delay".