President Donald Trump has said that hostages should be released Monday or Tuesday at a cabinet meeting held in the White House on Thursday.
The President added that getting the hostages would be a complicated process because "they are in places you don't want to be".
Addressing the gathering, Trump also said "I think it's going to be a lasting peace, hopefully an everlasting peace,".
Trump said under the plan Gaza is going to be "slowly redone," a reference to plans to rebuild the Palestinian enclave. He did not provide details.
Hamas is expected to release the 20 living hostages together, whilst Israel will free around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees 72 hours after the ceasefire begins.
"We are getting the hostages back on Tuesday, Monday or Tuesday, and that'll be a day of joy," Trump.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a ceasefire deal brokered by President Trump, announced late on Wednesday.
The announcement has been met with rejoicing and celeberations across various quarters in the region with one Gaza resident saying "it was like being born again" when he heard the announcement.
Israel's Cabinet is expected to vote on Thursday to approve the US- brokered ceasefire plan.
The agreement lacks detail on Hamas disarmament, long-term Gaza governance, and mechanisms ensuring a permanent ceasefire. Both sides have called on mediators to ensure compliance, with Hamas urging the international community to pressure Israel to uphold terms.
At the meeting which was also attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War, Trump also touched on Iran.
"Iran wants to work on peace now, they have informed us. And they have acknowledged that they are totally in favour of this deal, they think it's a great thing," he says, adding they will work with Iran.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had earlier in the week denied that talks with Washington would resume.
Araghchi, citing a report by Kuwaiti publication Al - Jarida said “It is incorrect. We deny it. There has been no contact,”.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is heading to Beijing on for his first official visit as chancellor, aiming to strengthen political and economic dial...
Newcastle United secured a 3–2 victory over Qarabağ FK in the return leg of the UEFA Champions League play-offs at St James’ Park....
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán should block financial support to Russia rather than...
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has called for an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, describing t...
Laurence des Cars, director of the Louvre Museum, has resigned months after a $102 million daylight heist at the museum, which prompted a parliamentar...
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is heading to Beijing on for his first official visit as chancellor, aiming to strengthen political and economic dialogue with China before tackling pressing international crises.
Newcastle United secured a 3–2 victory over Qarabağ FK in the return leg of the UEFA Champions League play-offs at St James’ Park.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán should block financial support to Russia rather than Ukraine, as Budapest opposes the European Union’s 20th sanctions package against Moscow.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has called for an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, describing the conflict as “a stain on our collective conscience”.
Further Iran-U.S. nuclear talks are scheduled in Geneva on Thursday (26 February) as diplomacy resumes over Tehran’s nuclear programme following earlier mediation efforts. But will the talks move Iran-U.S. negotiations closer to a deal, and what should be expected from the meeting?
The European Parliament’s trade chief has urged a temporary suspension of the EU–U.S. trade agreement approval, citing “tariff chaos” following President Donald Trump’s new 15% tariffs and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating his previous global tariff programme.
Iran has signed a secret €500 million arms deal with Russia to rebuild air defences, weakened during last year’s war with Israel, the Financial Times has reported. The agreement, signed in December in Moscow, will see Russia deliver 500 Verba launch units and 2,500 9M336 missiles over three years.
A British national was among at least 19 people killed when a passenger bus plunged off a mountain highway into the Trishuli river in Nepal before dawn on Monday (23 February), authorities said. A New Zealander and a Chinese national were among those injured.
Seven people were killed after gunmen ambushed a police patrol in Kohat, a district in Pakistan’s north-west near the Afghan border, on Tuesday, in an attack that comes amid rising militant violence and heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is heading to Beijing on for his first official visit as chancellor, aiming to strengthen political and economic dialogue with China before tackling pressing international crises.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán should block financial support to Russia rather than Ukraine, as Budapest opposes the European Union’s 20th sanctions package against Moscow.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has called for an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, describing the conflict as “a stain on our collective conscience”.
Newcastle United secured a 3–2 victory over Qarabağ FK in the return leg of the UEFA Champions League play-offs at St James’ Park.
Laurence des Cars, director of the Louvre Museum, has resigned months after a $102 million daylight heist at the museum, which prompted a parliamentary inquiry.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment