After two years of relentless war, a single signature may pause the bombs but not the questions.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first stage of a peace framework, a fragile but historic step toward ending the devastating Gaza conflict.
According to sources briefed on the deal, Hamas will release the remaining 20 Israeli hostages. At the same time, Israel will free nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and pull back troops to a new defensive line inside the territory.
The agreement, brokered after three days of indirect talks in Egypt, mirrors the opening phase of a 20-point peace plan proposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump last month.
If approved by Israel’s cabinet set to meet Thursday at 17:00 local time (15:00 BST) a ceasefire would take effect immediately. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed it as “a great day for Israel,” while Hamas called on Washington to ensure compliance.
Under the deal, 400 aid trucks will be allowed into Gaza daily during the first five days, with deliveries increasing in later stages, a senior Palestinian official told the BBC. The withdrawal of Israeli troops is expected to take less than 24 hours, according to U.S. officials, after which Hamas will have 72 hours to release hostages still held since the October 7, 2023, attacks.
Trump, who first announced the breakthrough, said hostages could begin returning home as early as Monday.
A Palestinian negotiator said the so-called “yellow line” , the new boundary for Israeli forces, had been redrawn to meet both Israel’s security concerns and Hamas’s conditions for the exchange. The revised map leaves less than 55% of Gaza under Israeli control.
Hamas sources added that their prisoner list includes Marwan Barghouti, a popular Fatah figure viewed by many Palestinians as a potential future president, though it remains unclear whether Israel agreed to his release.
World leaders and communities across the region have cautiously welcomed the move. Yet the toughest questions who will govern Gaza and how peace will be enforced remain unanswered.
TN Africa’s Take
Peace isn’t built in the signing, it’s tested in the silence that follows.