Trump says Gaza hostages to be released soon after deal reached
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on January 15 that hostages in the Gaza Strip will soon be released after a ceasefire deal is reached.
"We have an agreement on hostages in the Middle East. They will be released soon," he wrote on Truth Social.
According to Al Jazeera TV, Palestinian factions will release 33 Israeli hostages in the first phase of the deal.
Earlier in the day, Egyptian TV channel AlQahera News quoted a source as saying that a ceasefire agreement in Gaza had been reached. A joint statement will be published soon.
The day before, the Associated Press reported on the agreement of the Palestinian radical movement Hamas with the terms of the deal on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. It is noted that Israel is still clarifying the final details of the agreement, and the final approval of the deal from the Israeli side will have to give the Cabinet of Ministers.
In turn, the portal Axios January 12 reported that the special envoy of the U.S. President-elect for the Middle East Steve Whitkoff January 11 met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reported that Trump wants to reach a deal on a ceasefire in Gaza by his inauguration, scheduled for January 20.
The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian radical movement Hamas launched a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip into Israel. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.
