Trump: Israel has agreed to the initial withdrawal line, and the ceasefire will begin after Hamas agrees

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Oct. 4, 2025 - Trump said the ceasefire in Gaza would take effect immediately after Hamas agreed to the map for the initial Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

US President Donald Trump said that Israel has agreed to the initial withdrawal of its military from the Gaza Strip, as part of his plan to end the war and reach a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

Trump said, "After negotiations, Israel agreed to the initial withdrawal line that we shared with Hamas, and when Hamas agrees to that, the ceasefire will take effect immediately."

He added that after that, "the prisoner exchange will begin, and we will prepare the conditions for the next phase of the withdrawal, which will bring us closer to the end of this 3,000-year catastrophe."

Israeli reports indicated that the withdrawal line, according to the map published by Trump, represents a return to the lines of Operation Gideon 1, and constitutes Israeli control over 70% of the Gaza Strip.

Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas to finalize details of ending the war on the Gaza Strip are scheduled to begin next Monday in Egypt.

The plan, endorsed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of all prisoners held in the Gaza Strip within 72 hours, the disarmament of Hamas, and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, followed by the formation of a transitional authority headed by Trump.

The plan consists of twenty points, including the withdrawal of its fighters and leaders from the Gaza Strip to other countries, and the administration of Gaza by a Palestinian committee of technocrats and international experts, under the supervision of a council headed by Trump himself, whose members include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

During a press conference with the US President at the White House last Monday, Netanyahu announced his "support for the Trump plan," considering it "achieves Israel's goals from the war."

On Friday evening, Hamas said in a statement that it had submitted its response to the Trump plan for Gaza to mediators, announcing its agreement to the release of all Israeli prisoners, living and dead.

It also renewed its agreement to hand over management of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independent technocrats, based on Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support.

However, Hamas affirmed that the future of the Gaza Strip and the rights of the people will be discussed within a Palestinian framework, stressing its "readiness to immediately enter into negotiations, through mediators, to discuss the details."

Commenting on Hamas's response, Trump said in a tweet on his Truth Social account, "Based on the statement issued by Hamas, I believe they are ready for a lasting peace," calling on Tel Aviv to "stop bombing Gaza immediately."

Ignoring Trump's call for an immediate halt to the bombing, Israel continues to perpetrate massacres as part of its ongoing war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 70 Palestinians and wounding others on Saturday in ongoing attacks on the territory.