US President Donald Trump has announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan that aims to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.
This plan seeks to end Israel’s war that has dragged on for two years, killing more than 67,000 Palestinians with thousands more lost under the rubble and presumed dead.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
During the initial phase, Palestinian prisoners and Israeli captives will be released by each side.
These are the key moments that led to Trump’s announcement.
September 9: Israel attacks Hamas leadership in Qatar
At about 12:00 GMT on September 9, Israel fired missiles into a residential area of Qatar’s capital, Doha, where negotiators from Hamas were meeting to discuss a ceasefire plan for Gaza put forth by the United States. Senior Hamas leaders Khalil al-Hayya and Khaled Meshaal both survived.
Six people were killed, including al-Hayya’s son, Humam; one of al-Hayya’s office directors; three bodyguards; and a Qatari security official.
Trump’s reaction to the attack was muted – the US president initially said he was “not thrilled” by what Israel had done.
After Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani condemned the attack, calling it “a flagrant violation of its sovereignty and security, and a clear violation of the rules and principles of international law”, Trump said he felt “very badly about the location of the attack” and promised it would not happen again.
However, on the night of the attack, Israeli ambassador Yechiel Leiter appeared to suggest on Fox News that Israel would continue to target Hamas leaders in Qatar or elsewhere, stating, “If we didn’t get them this time, we’ll get them next time.”
September 22-23: Wave of nations recognise Palestinian state:
During the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, France, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Andorra and Belgium all formally recognised a Palestinian state.
Currently, 81 percent of the international community, or 157 of 193 UN member states have formally recognised the sovereign state of Palestine.
These recognitions have added to the mounting pressure on Israel – and its principal ally, the US – to agree to a ceasefire.
Speaking at UNGA, Trump called these recognitions a “reward” for Hamas.
“As if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognise the Palestinian state. The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists, for their atrocities,” Trump said.
However, he also stated: “We have to stop the war in Gaza immediately.”
September 29: Netanyahu visits White House, apologises to Qatar
Netanyahu apologised to Qatar for the killing of a Qatari citizen during an Israeli attack in Doha, during his visit to the White House to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza.
The apology was delivered on a trilateral call from Trump and Netanyahu at the White House to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
September 29: Trump’s 20-point proposal
Trump unveiled his 20-point proposal for Gaza during a White House news conference on September 29 after his meeting with Netanyahu, who was also present at the event.
He said that if both Israel and Hamas accepted the proposal, the war would end immediately, military operations would halt and Israeli captives would be returned within 72 hours.
In exchange for the freed captives, Israel is to release Palestinian prisoners, including life-sentence inmates and all women and children detained since October 7, 2023. Remains of Palestinians are to be exchanged for remains of Israelis.
Under the proposal, Gaza is to be provisionally governed by a technocratic Palestinian committee with oversight from an international “Board of Peace” chaired by Trump, pending reforms by the Palestinian Authority. Hamas is to be excluded from government, but its members will receive amnesty if they disarm, or be provided with safe passage if they wish to leave.
The proposal additionally seeks to dismantle Gaza’s military infrastructure, while launching immediate, United Nations-managed aid and reconstruction of essential facilities.
The plan was welcomed by the Palestinian Authority. The foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates released a joint statement welcoming the plan.
October 3: Hamas accepts parts of the 20-point proposal
Trump had given Hamas until October 5 to accept the proposal, and Hamas gave its formal acceptance of parts of it on October 3. Trump reiterated that if Hamas rejected the plan, he would fully support Israel to “do what it has to do”.
Hamas’s response stated that the group has agreed to “to release all occupation captives – both living and the remains – according to the exchange formula outlined in President Trump’s proposal, with the provision of field conditions necessary for the exchange”.
It added that it was ready to “immediately enter negotiations through mediators to discuss the details”.
Hamas also said that it was ready to “hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independents [technocrats] based on Palestinian national consensus and with Arab and Islamic support”.
October 6 and 7: Negotiations in Egypt
Indirect negotiations over the conditions for a ceasefire deal took place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on October 6 and October 7.
October 8: Trump’s Truth Social announcement
On the third day of negotiations in Egypt, US officials including Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and former Middle East adviser Jared Kushner (also Trump’s son-in-law), Netanyahu’s top adviser, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and the Qatari prime minister arrived in Egypt for negotiations.
Late in the evening, Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of the peace plan, in a post on his Truth Social platform at 23:17 GMT on Wednesday.
Trump wrote: “This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly!”
When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, it took 250 people captive. Many of these have since been released in various prisoner-exchange deals with Israel. Israel says that approximately 20 hostages are still alive in Gaza, and that the bodies of 28 others are also being held there.
How have previous ceasefire attempts in Gaza fared?
Over the past two years, there have been several attempts to halt hostilities and end the war in Gaza.
- November 2023: After six months of fighting, Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day pause in fighting on November 21. They also agreed on a prisoner exchange of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli captives. The truce was brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the US. The truce began on November 24 and was renewed twice before ending on December 1 with renewed violence.
- January 2024: On January 15 last year, Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire also involving a prisoner and captive exchange. However, fighting erupted again due to unresolved disputes over further prisoner releases and security guarantees.
- January 2025: On January 18, a ceasefire deal came into effect, which sought to pause fighting and free prisoners and captives. Qatar, Egypt and the US mediated this deal. Israel violated the ceasefire by continuing to kill people in Gaza, according to daily reports from the Ministry of Health. On March 18, Netanyahu unilaterally ended the ceasefire.
