WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has announced the start of “phase two” of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, following the release of 20 Israeli hostages under the first stage of the deal brokered by Türkiye, the US, Qatar, and Egypt.
“All twenty hostages are back and feeling as good as can be expected,” Trump wrote on his social media company Truth Social on Tuesday.
“A big burden has been lifted, but the job is not done. The dead have not been returned, as promised! Phase Two begins right now!!!” he added.
The first phase saw Hamas and Israel exchange prisoners and hostages, hundreds of Palestinians freed from Israel’s Ofer military prison and detention sites in the Negev Desert, and 20 living Israeli captives released from Gaza.
Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi convened a high-level summit in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday to rally international support for the peace plan.
Challenges to Trump’s Gaza Vision
Phase two of the US initiative aims to establish a new governing mechanism in Gaza, form a multinational peacekeeping force, and oversee the disarmament of Hamas, a Palestinian resistance movement that has long fought Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
Since Israel launched its military campaign in October 2023, more than 67,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children have been killed, leaving Gaza largely uninhabitable.
Although Israel withdrew its settlements from Gaza in 2005, the enclave remains under a blockade that has crippled its economy and confined more than two million residents.
Trump’s ceasefire framework calls for reconstruction and political reconciliation, but ongoing violence, internal executions, and Israel’s continued restrictions have cast uncertainty over the plan.
Analysts warn that without addressing the root causes of occupation and blockade, no ceasefire, however ambitious can deliver lasting peace.
