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United States President Donald Trump said Friday that Israel and Hamas have agreed on “most” of his proposed Gaza ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal, while acknowledging potential challenges in its implementation.
“There is consensus on most of it, and some of the details, like anything else, will be worked out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during an announcement on drug price cuts.
“You’ll find out that when you're sitting in a beautiful room in Egypt, it's easy to work something out, but then sometimes it doesn't work from a practical standpoint,” he added.
Trump confirmed plans to visit Israel and Egypt to mark the ceasefire agreement, which aims to end Israel’s two-year offensive on the Gaza Strip.
“I’ll be there … I think I’ll go to Cairo. I think that’s where we’re going, as opposed to the place of the signing,” he said, adding that “many world leaders” had been invited to attend.
He said he would address Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, during the trip and return to Washington on Tuesday to attend a ceremony awarding slain right-wing commentator and activist Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Trump added that Israeli hostages held in Gaza would begin to be released on Monday under the terms of the deal. “Only a few people know where they (hostages) are, in some cases. So, they’re getting them,” he said.
“I can tell you that I saw Israel dancing in the streets, but they were dancing in Qatar and Saudi Arabia and the UAE and many, many countries,” he added.
A Gaza ceasefire agreement was reached early Thursday in Egypt’s Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh, mediated by the guarantor states of Qatar, Egypt, the United States and Türkiye.
The 20-point ceasefire plan—first unveiled by Trump on Sept. 29—includes the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire, the disarmament of Hamas, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
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Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 67,000 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children.
The bombardment has rendered Gaza largely uninhabitable, leading to widespread starvation and disease.
Israel has approved the first phase of the deal.
At the same time, Hamas political bureau member Khalil al-Hayya said the group received guarantees that the agreement “means the war in Gaza has ended completely.”
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