Journalism of Courage
Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya on Thursday said that the outfit has received assurances from Arab mediators and the US that the war in Gaza is over.
“We have received assurances from the brotherly mediators and the US administration, who have confirmed that the war is completely over,” Khalil al-Hayya, the chief negotiator of Hamas, said.
Al-Hayya, who was the target of the Israeli airstrike in the Qatari capital Doha last month, also said that as part of the hostages-prisoners exchange deal, Israel has agreed to free 250 Palestinians serving life sentences. Another 1,700 Palestinians from Gaza who were arrested since October 7, 2023, and all Palestinian women and children detained by Israel, will also be released, he said.
He said Hamas and other Palestinian factions will now focus on achieving self-determination and establishing a Palestinian state.
US President Trump on Wednesday announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed on the first phase of a ceasefire deal.
“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,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
During the three days of negotiations in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Hamas had insisted on an international guarantee on the ceasefire in Gaza and the IDF’s withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave.
Earlier on Thursday, Osama Hamdan, another senior Hamas official had claimed that the militant group would not accept the Board of Peace, the temporary international government in Gaza, headed by Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Hamas has also rejected calls for the militia to disarm, a key demand of Israel, which was also proposed in Trump’s 20-peace plan.
On Hamas having no role in the future administration, Hamdan said that Gaza will be run by “independent Palestinian personalities.”
Trump to travel to Egypt, Israel
Meanwhile, US President Trump on Thursday said he plans to travel to Egypt next week to attend the official signing of the Gaza peace deal between Israel and Hamas.
“I’m going to try and make a trip over. We’re going to try and get over there, and we’re working on the timing, the exact timing,” he said. “We’re going to go to Egypt, where we’ll have a signing, an additional signing, and we’ve already had a signing.”
During the trip to the Middle East next week, Trump also confirmed that he has been invited to speak in the Israel Parliament, the Knesset.
