Hamas’ chief on Thursday declared that the war “completely ended,” saying mediators and the U.S. confirmed a permanent cease-fire agreement that includes the release of all Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons and the reopening of the Rafah crossing in both directions.
Khalil al-Hayya noted that the Palestinian delegation received assurances from the mediators and the U.S. administration that "the war has ended completely." Al-Hayya is also the head of the Hamas negotiating delegation in the talks on a cease-fire.
Hamas has "given a response that serves the interests of the Palestinian people and spares bloodshed," he said, referring to the agreement based on the U.S. peace plan.
"We affirm that the sacrifices of our people will not be in vain and that we will remain true to our promise and not give up the national rights of our people: to achieve freedom, independence, and self-determination."
An Israeli spokeswoman confirmed earlier that an agreement on key points of a plan to end the Gaza conflict had been signed in the morning, paving the way for the first phase of the U.S. proposal.
Hamas will continue to work with national and Islamic factions to realize the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, al-Hayya said.
The agreement includes the release of hostages abducted to the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of Israeli troops to an agreed line after two years of war.
Israel would free around 250 Palestinians serving life sentences and roughly 1,700 others detained after the Oct. 7 attacks two years ago.
The cease-fire agreement was announced at dawn on Thursday following four days of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel in Egypt's Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh, with mediation from Türkiye, Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S.
On Sept. 29, Trump unveiled a 20-point plan for Gaza that includes the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, a permanent cease-fire, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip.
Phase two of the plan calls for establishing a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas' participation, the formation of a security force made up of Palestinians and troops from Arab and Islamic countries, and the disarmament of Hamas. It also stipulates Arab and Islamic funding for the new administration and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, with limited participation from the Palestinian Authority.
Arab and Muslim countries have welcomed the plan, but some officials have also said that many details in it need discussion and negotiations to be fully implemented.
Since October 2023, Israel's genocidal attacks have killed nearly 67,200 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it uninhabitable.
