CAIRO, Egypt. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that Israel has agreed to the terms of a proposed 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, raising hopes for a pause in the nearly two-year war in Gaza. Trump said Washington would work with both parties during this period to push for a permanent end to the conflict.
Although Trump described the ceasefire proposal as “final,” neither Hamas nor Israel has officially accepted the deal. Trump warned that if Hamas does not agree, its position could worsen. Details on the specific conditions agreed upon by Israel remain unclear.
The announcement came shortly after Israeli and U.S. airstrikes targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, a longtime supporter of Hamas, and just days before Trump is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.
The ceasefire proposal is reportedly a modified version of an earlier plan drafted by Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. According to an Egyptian official involved in the mediation efforts, the deal calls for Hamas to release 10 hostages during the two-month truce—eight on the first day and two on the last. In return, Israel would withdraw troops from certain areas of Gaza and allow the entry of urgently needed humanitarian aid.
On Wednesday, Hamas confirmed it was reviewing the proposal but reiterated its stance that any agreement must guarantee an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Meanwhile, Netanyahu maintained a hardline position, saying, “There will not be a Hamas. There will not be a ‘Hamastan.’ We’re not going back to that. It’s over.”
Despite entrenched positions from both sides, some signs of potential progress have emerged. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel was serious about reaching a deal and mentioned positive indicators, although he refrained from offering specifics. He added that the government hoped to begin proximity talks soon.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid offered his party’s support in parliament if a deal is reached, signaling that a ceasefire agreement could survive potential political backlash from hardliners within Netanyahu’s coalition.
Of the 50 hostages believed to still be held by Hamas, around 20 are reportedly alive. At the end of May, Hamas had requested amendments to a previous U.S.-backed plan. Witkoff dismissed the demands as “totally unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, violence in Gaza continues. Gaza health officials reported that at least 139 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, including Marwan Al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, along with his wife and five children.
The Israeli military said it had targeted a “key terrorist” in Gaza City but acknowledged reports of civilian casualties. It expressed regret for any harm to non-combatants and said it aims to minimize such incidents.
The ongoing conflict began when Hamas fighters entered Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. Since then, over 57,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s military response, according to the Gaza health ministry. Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, creating a severe humanitarian crisis.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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