Hamas Claims US, Arab Mediators Guaranteed End of Gaza War

Hamas announced Thursday that it has secured ironclad guarantees from the United States, Arab mediators, and Turkey affirming the permanent end to the Gaza war. Exiled Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, speaking from Doha where he narrowly escaped an Israeli assassination bid last month, declared the U.S.-brokered agreement with Israel as a "victory for our people," detailing a ceasefire that halts the fighting, reopens vital border crossings, and unleashes a massive prisoner swap.

The deal, the first phase of President Donald Trump's audacious peace blueprint unveiled amid his reelection bid, took effect at dawn, mere hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet greenlit it in a tense overnight vote. Trump, beaming from the White House Rose Garden flanked by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and special envoy Jared Kushner, proclaimed: "This is the start of lasting peace—not just a pause, but an everlasting bond between neighbors." The agreement mandates an immediate cessation of hostilities, Israel's phased withdrawal from northern and central Gaza corridors, and Hamas's handover of all 48 hostages seized in the October 7, 2023, rampage that ignited the conflict and claimed 1,200 Israeli lives.

Under the terms, the 20 surviving hostages—elderly civilians, women, and children among them—are slated for collective release 72 hours post-ceasefire, ferried via Egypt's Rafah crossing under Red Crescent supervision. In reciprocity, Israel commits to freeing 250 long-term Palestinian inmates, including high-profile figures like Marwan Barghouti, alongside 1,700 detainees arrested since the war's outbreak. Hayya emphasized the inclusion of "all Palestinian women and children" in the releases, a concession Netanyahu hailed as a "moral imperative" despite hardline settler backlash. The accord also greenlights unrestricted humanitarian aid convoys—food, medicine, and reconstruction materials—pouring into Gaza's devastated 2.3 million residents, where famine and disease have felled over 67,000 souls per UN tallies.

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This breakthrough crowns Trump's frenetic shuttle diplomacy, blending arm-twisting phone marathons with Netanyahu and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, onsite haggling in Cairo's Al-Masry Club, and backchannel nudges via Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Unlike prior Qatar-mediated truces that crumbled after weeks, Trump's plan embeds Phase One in a 20-point roadmap: Hamas disarmament by mid-2026, technocratic governance overhaul under international oversight (with ex-UK PM Tony Blair as monitor), and $50 billion in Gulf-U.S. reconstruction pledges. Skeptics, including EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, caution that "paper promises mean little without enforcement," pointing to Hamas's history of rocket provocations and Israel's settlement encroachments.

Global reactions poured in like a tidal wave of cautious optimism. UN Secretary-General António Guterres termed it a "beacon amid darkness," pledging 5,000 peacekeepers for border stabilization. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, thawing Riyadh's Israel ties, offered to host Phase Two talks in Jeddah. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, however, blasted the deal as "capitulation to Zionist aggression," vowing proxy support for Hamas holdouts. In Tel Aviv, jubilation erupted at Hostage Square, where families like the Bibas clan—whose toddler hostage Kfir's fate remains a gut-wrenching mystery—lit candles in tearful vigils. Gaza's Khan Younis streets, once rubble-choked killing fields, saw impromptu dances amid aid trucks rumbling in, though hardliners in both camps grumbled: Hamas's military wing decried "surrender," while Netanyahu's coalition teetered on far-right defections.

For the war-weary, this feels like resurrection. The October 7 atrocities—Hamas militants storming kibbutzim, slaughtering revelers at a Nova festival—unleashed Israel's Operation Iron Swords, leveling Gaza's infrastructure and birthing a humanitarian apocalypse: 80% of homes pulverized, hospitals as graveyards, and a generation orphaned. Trump's intercession, leveraging his "art of the deal" lore and post-assassination attempt gravitas, sidestepped Biden-era stalemates, fusing economic carrots (Gaza's offshore gas fields) with sticks (U.S. arms embargoes). Yet, as the 72-hour clock ticks toward hostage reunions—potentially by Sunday—lingering shadows loom: Will Hamas renege on disarmament? Can Israel resist re-entry temptations? And in a powder-keg region, does "everlasting peace" withstand the next spark?

As dawn breaks over the Mediterranean, the world exhales. From Doha's gilded exile suites to Jerusalem's Knesset halls, this pact whispers of redemption—a fragile thread weaving enemies into uneasy partners. Trump, eyeing Nobel whispers, quipped: "I told you I'd fix the Middle East." Whether it's folly or fortune, Gaza's guns fall silent, hostages glimpse home, and a battered land dares dream of dawn.

Also Read: Hamas Signals Breakthrough as Trump’s Peace Plan Gains Momentum in Egypt Talks