- Hamas has freed all remaining living Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip. Israel has released almost 2,000 jailed Palestinians.
- President Donald Trump is in Egypt and joined a ceremony on the Gaza plan attended by other global leaders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited by Egypt but did not go.
- The ceasefire was secured after days of indirect negotiations brokered by the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey on the terms of a 20-point plan put forward by Trump.
- Trump spoke earlier at the Israeli parliament, where he said Gaza would be immediately demilitarized. He also used his speech to lobby for Netanyahu to receive a pardon that would offer a reprieve from his ongoing corruption trial.
It’s a wrap at Sharm El-Sheikh, after a day marked by a stream of thank yous. Here are the key takeaways:
- Hamas freed all remaining living Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip and Israel released almost 2,000 jailed Palestinians convicted murders, according to the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point agreement. The remains of deceased Israeli hostages are in the process of being released, but that process is expected to take at least several days.
- Trump joined a ceremony on the Gaza plan attended by other global leaders, where the ceasefire agreement was signed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited by Egypt but decided not to go.
- Trump spoke earlier at the Israeli parliament, where he said Gaza would be immediately demilitarized. He also used his speech to lobby for Netanyahu to receive a pardon that would offer a reprieve from his ongoing corruption trial.
- In Egypt, the US president addressed the rebuilding of Gaza, saying a number of countries had come forward to join in on the effort.
- Tony Blair, the former UK prime minister who had been suggested by Trump as a potential member of the “Board of Peace,” was present at the summit. Yet, Trump has seemed to cool on the idea, saying he needed to understand if Blair would be “popular with all.” FIFA chief Gianni Infantino also attended the gathering in Egypt.
NN: I hate to burst the bubble on Trumps great performance at his international TV show PEACE 2025. But reality is Hamas is heavily armed fully embedded in their command and control terrorist tunnels deep underground Gaza. They swear they will never disarm. So tell me how is this a lasting peace?