(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump says the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza may be released as soon as Monday, under a potential peace plan the White House helped broker between Israel and Hamas.
Trump offered that timeline Wednesday on Fox News and in a phone call with the families of hostages.
The news sparked celebrations in Israel and Gaza overnight, with each side looking forward to a possible new era of peace.
For Palestinians in Gaza, it is expected to mean the eventual withdrawal of Israeli forces and possibly a new government to begin rebuilding. For Israelis, Hamas returning their kidnapped sons and daughters after more than two years.
Worldwide appreciation for Trump poured in as families of hostages and Palestinians weary of Hamas cheered the news that a first step was being taken toward peace.
A total of 20 Israeli hostages are believed to be alive in Gaza, while Hamas holds the bodies of an additional 28 Israelis in the war-torn Palestinian enclave. In exchange for the release of hostages, Israel was expected to free Palestinian prisoners and begin withdrawing from the majority of Gaza.
Questions remained whether longer-term aspects of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire — including the disarming of Hamas and a different political body to govern Palestinians — will come to fruition. But for now, leaders across the globe expressed hope that Gaza was on the cusp of peace two years after the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas incursion into Israel triggered the war.
Trump said earlier Wednesday that he may travel to the Middle East to oversee the ceasefire deal.
The agreement comes after Trump intensified diplomatic efforts to halt the war, after Israel carried out strikes against Hamas officials residing in Qatar and without consulting the U.S. Trump said he was “very unhappy” with the strike against a major military ally of the U.S. and the primary negotiator in efforts to end the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from Trump, agreed to the president’s 20-point plan for ending the war with Hamas. Trump relied on a coalition of leaders from Arab, Gulf and Muslim-majority countries to pressure Hamas to also accept the deal.
