Celebrations in the streets after Trump announces Gaza peace deal

The remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza will be released within days and Israel’s military presence wound back under a breakthrough agreement aimed at halting the fighting after two years of bloody conflict.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined other world leaders in applauding the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, which was announced by US President Donald Trump and drew Israelis and Palestinians onto the streets to celebrate.

Trump said the 20 estimated surviving Israeli hostages – who have been held in captivity since being abducted on October 7, 2023 – would probably be freed on Monday (AEDT), but other reports suggested they could be released as early as Saturday.

The remains of the estimated 28 hostages who have died in captivity would then be handed over in phases soon after. Some 400 aid trucks a day will enter Gaza, where civilians have suffered dire food shortages and starvation, and almost 2000 Palestinians are set to be released from Israeli jails.

“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform as he declared: “Blessed Are The Peacemakers”.

“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,” he wrote.

Gaza authorities say more than 67,000 people have been killed and much of the enclave has been flattened since Israel began its military response to the Hamas cross-border attack on October 7. About 1200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage back to Gaza, according to Israeli officials.

Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong hailed the agreement as a “much-needed step to peace” as they urged both parties to respect the plan’s terms.

“Australia welcomes President Trump’s announcement that Israel and Hamas have signed off the first phase of the plan to bring peace to Gaza,” they said in a statement.

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the agreement should inspire hope in Australia and around the world, as she urged Australians to suspend protests about the war as a ceasefire goes into effect.

“Today is the start of the end of the war, and the beginning of enduring peace,” she said.

Speaking to this masthead from southern Gaza, where he works as a doctor, Mohammad Alastal said the announcement had brought “a profound sense of relief and cautious optimism to the people of Gaza”.

“The people here have learnt to celebrate with restraint, knowing how fragile peace can be,” he said.

“Still, we choose to believe that this time can be different, that humanity and conscience will prevail, and that the world will stand with us as we rebuild our lives in peace.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a great day for Israel and that he would convene the government on Thursday (Israel time) to approve the deal, which was signed in Egypt.

“With God’s help we will bring them all home,” he posted on social media.

“I thank President Trump and his team from the bottom of my heart for their commitment to this sacred mission of freeing our hostages”.

Israeli media outlets reported that Israel would remain in control of over half of Gaza under the deal, but the Associated Press reported that the Israeli military could withdraw from as much as 70 per cent of Gaza.

The Israeli military said Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir had instructed forces to prepare strong defences, to be ready for any scenario and to prepare to lead the operation for the hostages’ return with sensitivity and professionalism.

Confirming the agreement on its Telegram channel, Hamas called on Trump and guarantor states to ensure that Israel fully implements the ceasefire, saying the group would “never relinquish our people’s national rights until freedom, independence, and self-determination are achieved”.

The statement said Hamas appreciated the efforts of mediators Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, and in an extraordinary shift in tone, added that the group valued “the efforts of US President Donald Trump”.

The Hostages Families Forum, a grassroots group representing many of the families of Israeli hostages, said it had received the news of a ceasefire with “excitement, anticipation, and apprehension”. It called on the Israeli government to immediately convene to approve the deal and praised Trump for his “commitment and determination that led to this historic breakthrough”.

As Israelis flocked to Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to celebrate, returned hostage Aviva Siegel said the news was “truly amazing” and that she and husband Keith, who was also freed from captivity, were finally able to smile.

Many questions remain, and subsequent phases of a peace agreement will likely prove more difficult to negotiate.

It was not immediately clear whether the parties made any progress on the trickier questions about the future of the conflict, including whether Hamas will demilitarise, as Trump has demanded, and eventual governance of the war-torn territory.

It was also unclear which Palestinian prisoners would be released, but the list of people that Hamas wanted freed is believed to include some of the most prominent prisoners ever jailed by Israel, prisoners whose release has been off limits in previous ceasefires.

But Israel and Hamas appear to be closer than they have been since at least March to ending a war that has killed an estimated 67,200 Palestinians, flattened most of Gaza and frayed social cohesion around the world, including in Australia.

The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network welcomed a reprieve to the war, but said it feared Israel would breach the ceasefire as it did in March.

“While this plan is a recognition that Israel’s current position is untenable, it does not lift the criminal siege, dismantle the apartheid system or end the occupation,” the group said.

Alon Cassuto, chief executive of the Zionist Federation of Australia, said that “for the Australian Jewish community, the hope of seeing the hostages finally return after two agonising years brings both deep emotion and profound relief”.

“This day may yet close one of the most painful chapters in living memory,” he said.

A report by a United Nations commission of inquiry released last month found that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza and accused Israeli authorities of intending to kill as many Palestinians as possible.

Israel has denied the charge of genocide, saying it continued the war to secure the release of the hostages and ensure Hamas, a listed terror group, could never again govern Gaza or threaten Israel’s security.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the agreement as a “momentous opportunity” while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it a moment of “profound relief that will be felt around the world”.

The Hamas wish list for prisoner releases reportedly includes Marwan Barghouti, a leader of the Fatah movement, and Ahmad Saadat, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Both are serving multiple life sentences for involvement in attacks that killed Israelis.

In the lead-up to the announcement, Israeli officials were pushing back on inclusion of Barghouti – the most prominent Palestinian prisoner, who is serving five life sentences in an Israeli jail – according to a person briefed on the negotiations, who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

Israeli officials had made clear to the United States that the release of Barghouti would set off the far-right members of Netanyahu’s coalition, the person said.

In his post announcing the deal, Trump said the development marked a “historic and unprecedented event” that ensured all parties would be treated fairly.

Earlier on Wednesday (US time) Trump said he might travel to Egypt this weekend.

His envoys joined talks in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh after two days of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel, to try to seal the ceasefire and hostage-release agreement, based on a 20-point plan Trump had presented to the parties.

“I was just given a note by the secretary of state [Marco Rubio] saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they’re going to need me pretty quickly,” Trump said during an unrelated White House event.

The war in Gaza evolved into a regional conflict after it began in response to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, drawing in countries such as Iran, Yemen and Lebanon, and reshaping the Middle East.

Just a day after the second anniversary of Hamas’ attack, negotiators handed over their lists of hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be freed in a swap with Israel.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a close confidant of Netanyahu, arrived and began participating in the negotiations overnight, Israeli and Palestinian sources said.

Also joining the discussions was the prime minister of longstanding mediator Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, according to Egyptian sources.

In parallel with the Sharm el-Sheikh talks, Arab and other states will meet in Paris on Thursday to discuss Gaza’s postwar transition, with Washington likely to be represented, diplomatic sources said.

Hamas said the first couple of days of indirect negotiations had been focused on three issues: halting the conflict, withdrawing Israeli forces from Gaza, and the swap deal.

The group has so far refused to discuss Israel’s demand that Hamas give up its arms, which the Palestinian source said Hamas would reject as long as Israeli troops occupied Palestinian land.

Two sources familiar with the talks confirmed that sticking points included the mechanism for the Israeli withdrawal, with Hamas seeking a clear timeline linked to the release of hostages and guarantees of a complete withdrawal by Israeli forces.

Within Gaza, Israel has dialled down its military campaign at Trump’s behest, but it has not halted strikes altogether. The Israeli military said on Wednesday that its forces had killed several militants in Gaza City who it said were on their way to attack Israeli soldiers.

Trump’s plan calls for an international body led by Trump and including former British prime minister Tony Blair to play a role in Gaza’s postwar administration. Arab countries that back the plan say it must lead to eventual independence for a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu says will never happen.

There is no clear indication who will rule Gaza when the war ends. Netanyahu, Trump, Western and Arab states have ruled out a role for Hamas, which has run Gaza since driving out Palestinian rivals in 2007.

Hamas has said it would relinquish Gaza governance only to a Palestinian technocrat government supervised by the Palestinian Authority and backed by Arab and Muslim countries. It rejects any role for Blair, or foreign rule of Gaza.

With Reuters, AP, Bloomberg

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