Two years, 67,000 dead and much suffering later, Israel and Hamas signed this Thursday in the Egyptian town of Sharm el Sheikh. They have done it with great discretion and without media coverage, despite its importance: it will launch the release – in the coming days – of the last 48 Israeli hostages and the release of some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli troops to half of the Strip and a massive entry of humanitarian aid that Israel prevented. And it is, above all, the first step to put a definitive end to the invasion that Israel launched two years ago on Tuesday, following the attack by the Islamist militia. Scenes of joy have occurred in both Gaza and Israel since the US president announced it at dawn. It will not come into force, however, until 24 hours after it is approved by the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu, in principle, without difficulty. It meets from 6:00 p.m. local time (5:00 p.m. in mainland Spain).
The pact was signed this morning in the Egyptian town of Sharm El Sheikh, as confirmed by the two parties. The negotiating delegations spent until Thursday morning polishing the final details, according to official Egyptian media.
There is still no precise date for the release of the at least 20 living Israeli hostages, whose preparation (they are scattered in secret locations and some in the hands of militias other than Hamas) will require at least two days. It is estimated to take place between Saturday and Monday, around the time Trump will speak before the Israeli Parliament, at Netanyahu’s invitation.
The ceasefire after the Netanyahu Government approves it, so that the troops abandon the urban centers and withdraw to the agreed first line, around the middle of Gaza, said Tal Heinrich, spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s office.
A Hamas spokesman, Hazem Qassem, has accused Netanyahu of manipulating dates, lists and some procedures and measures already agreed upon. “There was talk of implementing a ceasefire at noon today, but the occupation [Israel]for internal reasons, is postponing the announcement to other dates,” Qassem protested. “We are in contact with the mediators to force him to comply with what was agreed and not allow him to postpone it,” he said.
A senior official of the Palestinian militia, who responded in a message to questions from EL PAÍS on condition of anonymity, also criticized Netanyahu, whom he assured that “he is trying to evade compliance with the decisions.” [previstas en el acuerdo] to stop the genocide.” According to this Hamas representative, the Israeli prime minister “has not yet given his army the order to stop the bombing.”
Hamas has signed the pact and “now it is up to Trump” to tell the group “when he will force Netanyahu to begin implementing it.”
The Israeli Executive will vote in two parts, as usual in these cases. First, in a smaller cabinet, the security cabinet, and then, the entire Government. The ministers will not rule on the 20 points of Trump’s plan, but on the first phase: the release of the last 48 hostages in exchange for the release of almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, 250 of them with at least a life sentence for participating in or organizing attacks within the Middle East conflict.
Approval in Israel does not seem at risk because it requires a simple majority and Netanyahu’s Likud has it. It can also count on the ministers of New Hope, the party of Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, with which it is going to merge. In any case, none of the ultra-nationalist or ultra-Orthodox partners have voted against.
The most critical, the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, has limited himself to pointing out that he has “mixed feelings” about it, so he will not speak in favor. He feels, on the one hand, “great joy” for the return of the hostages, but, on the other, “an immense fear of the consequences of emptying the prisons and freeing the next generation of terrorist leaders who will do everything possible to continue shedding rivers of Jewish blood.” Smotrich has insisted that the agreement not become what it really is: “the kidnapped in exchange for stopping the war.” He wants the State of Israel to continue “immediately after they return home” to “strive with all its might to truly eradicate Hamas.”
. The agreement has been signed without including it and a senior Hamas official has accused Israel in recent hours of going back on its commitments in this regard. Mahmud Mardawi, belonging to the political arm, has assured on the social network
The interpretation of the agreement has been a clear exercise of Real politics since Trump and Netanyahu presented it on the 19th at the White House. Neither the deadlines nor the entry into force have been as indicated. It was not a plan divided into two phases either, but it has been treated as such, which makes it easier for Netanyahu to push it forward with his ultranationalist partners: Religious Zionism, Smotrich’s party, and Jewish Power, the formation of the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir. The bulk of the challenges are concentrated in the second phase, such as the disarmament of Hamas or the establishment of a Palestinian technocratic government.
Egypt, for its part, has continued to press for excavators to be authorized to enter Gaza to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. Its president, Abdel Fattá Al Sisi, celebrated the Sharm el Sheikh agreement “after two years of suffering and misfortunes” in a message spread on social networks. He also considered that it also “opens the door of hope” in the region for a future “defined by justice and stability.” On Wednesday, the Egyptian president had invited Trump to attend the signing of the agreement in Egypt, but the heads of the United States negotiating delegation, which includes the president’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, very active in regional diplomacy during his first term, are scheduled to travel to Israel on Thursday, according to Israeli media.
The agreement came after an intense day of indirect negotiations that began on Wednesday morning in Sharm el Sheikh between mediators from Egypt and Qatar and the Hamas delegation, led by its leader abroad, Khalil al Hayya. In the afternoon, the Egyptian and Qatari mediators met with the delegations of the United States and Israel, which was attended by the head of their negotiating team and Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, a close ally of Netanyahu. In the evening, a new extended session was held, when Trump finally announced it and the two sides arrived and the rest of the mediators joined the chorus of celebrations.
