FACTBOX – 1st phase of Gaza ceasefire deal to span 5 days

CAIRO/ISTANBUL

The first phase of a Gaza ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel will span five days and include a visit by US President Donald Trump to the region to oversee its implementation, a draft roadmap showed Thursday.

The ceasefire agreement was announced early Thursday following four days of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh, with the participation of delegations from Türkiye, Egypt, and Qatar, and under US supervision.

According to the roadmap obtained by Anadolu and confirmed by an informed Egyptian source, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and an initial Israeli withdrawal will be the focus of the first phase of the deal.

Although the mediators — Egypt, Qatar, and the US — have not yet officially confirmed the document, Egyptian media outlets have reported on its content.

The roadmap includes the following provisions:

Thursday

An official announcement of the ceasefire agreement.

The Israeli government will approve the agreement at 1600 pm (1300 GMT).

Lists of prisoners set for release and the withdrawal map of the Israeli forces in the first phase will be published.

Tel Aviv estimates there are 48 Israeli captives in Gaza, including 20 believed to be alive, while over 11,100 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons under severe conditions of torture, starvation, and medical neglect, with many reported dead according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.

Friday

-The opening of a period for formal objections to the deal before Israeli courts.

-The start of Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.

Saturday

Continuing Israeli troop withdrawal from populated areas.

Palestinian factions begin collecting living Israeli captives for transfer and arranging the handover of recoverable remains of deceased captives.

Sunday

President Trump arrives in the region to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

Official declaration of the end of the Israeli war in Gaza.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said that Trump would arrive in Israel on Sunday for a brief visit, while the US president himself said he might visit both Egypt and Israel.

Monday

Official prisoner exchange supervised by Türkiye, Egypt, Qatar, and the United States.

Israel releases Palestinian prisoners and returns dozens of bodies.

Full reopening of Gaza’s crossings and the entry of 400 aid trucks daily, expected to rise to 600 or more in the following days.

Immediate start of talks for the second phase of the agreement to complete the Israeli troop withdrawal and secure a permanent end to the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that the Gaza ceasefire deal will take effect tonight after approval by his government.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, meanwhile, confirmed the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, without specifying when exactly the deal will take effect.

“An agreement has been reached to implement a ceasefire and end the war in Gaza after two years of suffering, in accordance with the peace plan proposed by President Donald Trump,” he said in a statement.

Since March 2, Israel has kept the Gaza crossings closed, blocking all humanitarian aid and plunging the enclave into famine, despite hundreds of aid trucks waiting at its borders.

On Sept. 29, Trump unveiled a 20-point peace plan that includes the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire, and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip.

A second phase of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas’ participation, the formation of a security force comprising Palestinians and troops from Arab and Islamic countries, and the disarmament of Hamas. It also stipulates Arab and Islamic funding for the new administration and the reconstruction of the Strip, with limited participation from the Palestinian Authority.

Arab officials have said that many details in Trump’s Gaza plan need discussion and negotiation to be fully implemented.