US President Donald Trump will also deliver a speech to the Israeli parliament during his upcoming Middle East trip. Trump announced this in the White House after Knesset Chairman Amir Ohana officially invited him to the Knesset and wrote on Platform X: “Israel awaits the peace president.”
Ohana was referring to Trump’s peace plan, which Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas had previously accepted. As part of an agreed ceasefire, fighting in the Gaza Strip ended for the time being on Friday.
Deadline for hostage release is running
There will be a 72-hour deadline for the hostages to be released from the ceasefire coming into force on Friday at 12:00 noon local time (11:00 a.m. CEST). Hamas circles said that the organization would probably hand over all living and, if possible, dead hostages gradually between Sunday and Monday morning at 6:00 a.m. (5:00 a.m. CEST). US President Donald Trump had previously said he expected a handover on Monday.
Of the last of those abducted in the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, 20 are reportedly still alive. In addition, the remains of an Israeli soldier killed in 2014 should also be returned. The return is to be organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross without a public ceremony and without media representatives.
In return, Israel should release almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners – including around 250 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment.
Cairo: Gaza summit with Trump in Egypt
The US President recently announced that he would travel to Egypt to take part in an “official signing” of the agreement between Israel and Hamas. The Foreign Ministry in Cairo announced that an international summit was planned in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. The meeting was to be chaired by US President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. A day for the summit was not announced.
Among those expected in Egypt is Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whom al-Sisi has invited to a ceremony to mark the agreement in Egypt. German government circles said that the Chancellor had gratefully accepted the invitation. However, the Chancellor’s trip has not yet been officially confirmed.
The USA is Israel’s most important ally and wants to deploy 200 soldiers to secure the ceasefire, some of whom, according to media reports, have already arrived in the region.
In accordance with the peace plan, the Israeli armed forces have now withdrawn to a previously agreed position. They still occupy a little more than half of the coastal strip.
Difficult questions should be clarified in the second phase of negotiations
After the hostages kidnapped from Israel have been exchanged for the Palestinian prisoners, a second phase of negotiations will be used to create conditions that will ensure long-term peace in the region. According to Trump’s plan, a complete withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from the Gaza Strip, which Hamas is demanding, is only planned at a later date, when an international stabilization force (ISF) provides security on site.
The disarmament of the terrorist organization Hamas will also only be discussed at a later date. Hamas has so far rejected this. In addition to the US military’s troop contribution, soldiers from Turkey, Qatar, Egypt and other countries are to secure the ceasefire. However, it is not yet clear when these soldiers will be on site. There is also no timetable for setting up a new administration in the Gaza Strip. What role Hamas will play in the future is also controversial. She has so far rejected outside interference.
People return to northern Gaza after ceasefire
According to Palestinian figures, tens of thousands of people have returned to the north of the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire began. Around 200,000 Palestinians displaced in the war are said to have returned, according to the Hamas-controlled civil defense of the coastal area.
WFP: Enough food for two million people
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) called on the Israeli government to quickly facilitate further aid deliveries to the people of the Gaza Strip. As the largest humanitarian organization in the world, the WFP has enough food in the region to supply the two million people in the Gaza Strip for up to three months if Israel grants full access. Trucks are traveling from Egypt, Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the UN organization reported.
As part of an agreement between Israel and Hamas, aid deliveries are to be expanded to the Gaza Strip. According to information from Hamas circles, around 600 humanitarian aid trucks will arrive per day in the first phase. According to the Israeli authority responsible for Palestinian affairs, Cogat, an average of around 300 trucks with aid deliveries arrived every day, up from around 200 in the previous weeks.
