GAZA/JERUSALEM, Oct. 9 — Israel and Hamas are preparing to implement a Gaza ceasefire agreement, with an official signing ceremony expected later Thursday in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh following three days of intensive negotiations mediated by Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye and the United States, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Qatar’s Alaraby Television Network in an interview on Thursday that the ceasefire will take effect immediately upon Israeli government approval.
The first phase of the agreement includes Israeli withdrawal from “Gaza City, the north, Rafah, and Khan Younis, and the opening of five crossings for the entry of humanitarian aid,” with international agencies overseeing aid distribution, he said.
“Drone operations in the Gaza Strip’s airspace will cease during the prisoner release process,” which will involve “250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 other prisoners,” he added.
Informed Palestinian sources told Xinhua that Hamas has already provided mediators with prisoner lists “according to agreed criteria,” awaiting final approval.
Zaher Jabarin, head of Hamas’s Martyrs and Prisoners’ Affairs Office, confirmed the movement “has fulfilled its part and will announce the names once procedures are completed.”
A Hamas official told Xinhua that the final negotiation sessions “resolved all pending issues after long discussions on withdrawal maps, prisoner guarantees, and humanitarian aid mechanisms,” noting the Rafah crossing will later reopen in both directions for medical transfers.
A source close to Hamas, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua on Thursday that the group has begun relocating Israeli hostages to safe locations within the Gaza Strip in preparation for their handover to the International Committee of the Red Cross in the coming days.
Meanwhile, an Israeli government official told Xinhua the Security Cabinet will vote on the agreement at 17:00 p.m. local time (1400 GMT) on Thursday, with the full government expected to meet about an hour later for another round of votes.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the release of the hostages is expected on Sunday or Monday. Israel’s state-owned radio station Kan Bet reported that the Israeli army will begin gradual withdrawal from parts of Gaza within 24 hours of the signing ceremony while maintaining forces in about half the enclave until all Israeli detainees are released.
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation specifically noted that three divisions have begun withdrawing from Gaza City since Wednesday night in preparation for redeployment around Khan Younis in the south.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Thursday in a statement that it has “begun operational preparations” for the first of a three-phase withdrawal from Gaza, adding that “preparations and combat protocols are underway to transition to adjusted deployment lines soon.”
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a press statement that Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has instructed forces to maintain “defensive deployment in areas adjacent to the Gaza Strip” to ensure stability during implementation of the agreement.
Earlier on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on social media that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the “first phase” of his 20-point plan to end the two-year conflict in Gaza, and release Israeli hostages and some Palestinian prisoners.
Reports indicated Trump may visit Israel on Sunday to follow up on the implementation of the agreement. The latest round of the Israeli Palestinian conflict erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, when a large-scale Hamas attack on southern Israel killed roughly 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages.
Since then, Israel’s response has caused a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with local health authorities reporting more than 67,000 Palestinians killed and nearly 170,000 others injured in Israeli military operations.
According to UN estimates, the conflict has also destroyed about 80 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure and displaced nearly 2 million residents. (Xinhua)
