WHITE FLAG

Hamas Approves Ceasefire Agreement With Hostages to Be Released

The agreement comes just ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, opening the door to ending the 15-month war.

Hamas says it has reached a ceasefire deal with Israel on Wednesday after more than 15 months of fighting, opening the door for negotiations to end the war as President-elect Donald Trump enters his second term.

The agreement, which still needs to be approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet, will see Israel swap its prisoners for Hamas’ captives and end fighting over the next days, reported Reuters.

Netanyahu’s office said that the details of the ceasefire deal with Hamas were being worked out and that the agreement had not yet been finalized.

With the backing of the United States, negotiations between Israel and Hamas have been underway for months, and ending the war was a major talking point in the run up to the U.S. presidential election.

Multiple outlets have reported that Trump’s upcoming Jan. 20 inauguration played a major role in sealing the deal, with Trump threatening there would be “hell to pay” if a deal isn’t done before he takes office, reported Reuters.

“With this deal in place, my National Security team, through the efforts of Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven,” the president-elect wrote on his Truth Social platform.

He added that he was thrilled that “American and Israeli hostages will be returning home.”

During Trump’s first term, his son-in-law and then-senior adviser Jared Kushner helped broker a deal normalizing diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and later Bahrain, known as the Abraham Accords.

With the Trump administration backing negotiations once again, the president-elect has signaled that he will use the ceasefire to expand the Israel’s regional ties, reported Reuters.

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Emell Derra AdolphusNews Reporter

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