Hamas has accepted a draft ceasefire agreement that would free dozens of Israeli hostages, as President-elect Donald Trump warned of “hell to pay” if captives aren’t released before his January 20 inauguration.
“This is the only time since November 2023 that we are really negotiating with Hamas, and they are not playing a game in negotiations,” an Israeli government official told Fox News.
The first phase of the deal would include a 42-day ceasefire and release of 33 hostages – women, children, and men over 50. Five female Israeli soldiers would be exchanged for 250 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 Islamic terrorists serving life sentences.
Trump had set a hard deadline for hostage release for his inauguration, which pushed Hamas terror leaders to the table.
“If those hostages aren’t released by the time I get to office, there will be hell to pay,” Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt earlier this month. “It won’t be the word don’t. You can add that into it, but that would just be a small part of it.”
The plan requires Israel to withdraw from Gaza population centers while maintaining control of the Philadelphi Corridor along Egypt’s border. Six hundred humanitarian aid trucks would enter Gaza daily.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said Tuesday the talks are “positive and productive,” while declining to discuss specifics.
Over 100 Israeli hostages were taken to Gaza in Hamas’ surprise October 7 attack, during which over 1,200 civilians were massacred. Israeli officials believe at least one-third of the remaining hostages are dead, with possibly three Americans among survivors.
According to an Israeli government official, intelligence services believe “most” of the 33 hostages set to be released are still alive. Israel has vowed their military “will not leave the Gaza Strip until all of our hostages are back home.”
The fight to find and free the hostages has displaced 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, according to UN figures.
Gaza’s Health Ministry, run by Hamas, claims there has been over 46,000 Palestinian deaths in the fighting. It has been well documented that Hamas falsely inflates civilian casualty reports, and regularly claims that terrorists killed in fighting were civilians.
Israeli officials must submit the proposed ceasefire agreement to the Cabinet for final approval. An Egyptian official confirmed mediators offered verbal guarantees that negotiations for phases two and three would continue during the first phase.
Trump said Monday he expects the deal to be completed “by the end of the week.” The negotiations include U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Doha, who were joined recently by Trump’s new Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
The second phase of the proposed ceasefire deal would see the remaining living hostages freed for more prisoners and a gradual Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Phase three involves returning the bodies of the remaining murdered hostages and implementing a three-to-five-year Gaza reconstruction plan.