In separate statements early Thursday, US President Donald Trump and Hamas said Israel and the movement had signed the first phase of the US-proposed Gaza agreement. Al Manassa obtained implementation details and a timetable for the deal’s provisions.
The agreement specifies an official announcement at 12 pm on Saturday, followed by approval by the occupation government at 4 pm, after which lists of prisoners and the withdrawal map for phase one will be published.
Hamas said today on Telegram that it had submitted lists of Palestinian prisoners in line with agreed criteria under the deal, adding it was awaiting final agreement on the names before making them public.
Formal objections to the prisoner lists are set to open in the occupation’s court on Friday. Field withdrawal is to begin Thursday evening according to the agreed map.
A Palestinian source involved in the Sharm El-Sheikh negotiations told Al Manassa that the Palestinian negotiating team obtained US agreement to compel Israel to release former Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, along with Ahmad Sa’adat, the secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Hamas leaders Ibrahim Hamed and Hassan Salameh, who are serving multiple life sentences.
Under Trump’s peace plan provisions, 250 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are expected to be freed in exchange for 47 Israeli captives held in Gaza, including the remains of 25 Israelis.
In line with the agreed schedule, next Saturday will see the occupation force’s continued withdrawal from populated areas. After that, the resistance will begin preparing the living captives it holds for release and handing over the remains of soldiers that can be returned.
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump is due to arrive in the region to follow up on implementation and announce an end to the war on Gaza. The formal exchange is slated for Monday under the supervision of Egypt, Qatar, the United States, and Turkey.
In return, the Israeli occupation army will release Palestinian detainees and hand over the remains of dozens of resistance fighters, including members of elite units of Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing.
Border crossings will also fully open, with 400 aid trucks entering daily, increasing to 600 or more in the following days.
Talks will begin immediately on the deal’s second phase to complete the withdrawal and ensure a permanent halt to the aggression.
Trump said Wednesday he might travel to the Middle East at the end of the week, adding, “We'll be leaving probably on Sunday, maybe Saturday,” after President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi invited Trump to attend the signing ceremony for the agreement ending the war in the Gaza Strip.
Indirect talks between Israeli and Hamas negotiators began last Monday and made some progress, but US and Israeli officials said the talks would not reach a decisive point until Witkoff and Kushner arrived.
Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Sharm El-Sheikh on Wednesday to join the negotiations, which also included Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Turkish and Egyptian intelligence chiefs Ibrahim Kalin and Hassan Rashad, and Netanyahu’s senior adviser, Ron Dermer.
On Friday evening Oct. 3, Hamas announced its acceptance of Trump’s peace plan, which includes the release of all Israeli captives, both living and dead, under a defined exchange formula, and the transfer of Gaza’s administration to a Palestinian body of independents (technocrats) based on national consensus, without addressing disarmament or reconstruction.
Immediately afterward, the US president called on Israel to stop the war at once. However, the Israeli occupation army did not comply and continued its military operations in Gaza City, issuing new warnings to Palestinians to evacuate immediately toward the southern part of the Strip.
