U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced that Hamas will begin releasing Israeli captives on Monday, as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement and truce that will also include the return of remains of those who died in the conflict.
The ceasefire agreement, which came into place on Friday morning, stipulates Hamas to release 20 surviving captives and the remains of 28 others in exchange for about 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel before 12 pm local time (10 am BST) on Monday.
While the announcement was followed by the UN receiving greenlight from Israel on scaling up medical and food-based aid in Gaza and the return of hundreds of hundreds of Palestinians to their dismantled homes. Many remain sceptical about how closely the ceasefire agreement will be executed, as it leaves some room for doubt on post-war governance in Gaza.
Trump on postwar governance in Gaza?
The shape of a postwar administration for Gaza also remains uncertain, as reports by BBC and The Independent suggest that both Hamas officials and Israeli troops remain suspicious of international involvement in ‘Gaza’, which goes against Trump’s plan of creating an international “Board of Peace,” to oversee the temporary governing council led by Palestinian technocrats.
When inquired about the implementation of the future stages of Trump’s plan for Gaza, the US president responded by saying that there is consensus, for the most part, on how the next stages of the Gaza ceasefire plan will work, but admitted that “some of the details … will be worked out”.
High-level summit on Gaza in Egypt
Trump is also set to host a high-level summit on Gaza during his visit to Egypt next week. The meeting will bring together leaders and representatives from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Indonesia. However, as per a Guardian report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not expected to attend the meeting in Egypt.
Earlier today, Admiral Brad Coope, the head of the US Central Command (Centcom), said that he visited Gaza to discuss post-conflict stabilisation and insisted no US troops will be deployed there. As per reports by international media, Hamas continues its efforts to spread its militia in areas from which Israeli troops have stepped back. Meanwhile, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, who unilaterally ended a ceasefire in March, hinted that Israel might renew its offensive if Hamas does not give up its weapons.
Trump also welcomed support from the European Union, Iran and Russia, saying that the agreement could serve as a foundation for wider regional peace. “This is peace in the Middle East, and it’s a beautiful thing,” he concluded.