Israel, Hamas sign "first phase of peace plan," says Trump

Washington DC [US], October 9 (ANI): US President Donald Trump has announced that Israel and Hamas have "signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan".
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said, "This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace."
"All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!" he added.
Trump is scheduled for a "routine yearly check-up" at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington DC, on Friday morning, according to the White House, Al Jazeera reported. He may travel to the Middle East, where negotiators are trying to finalise a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel "shortly thereafter," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said.
Hamas's Gaza chief, Khalil al-Hayya, is meeting with Egypt's intelligence head to put the finishing touches to a "historic" Gaza agreement, says a source briefed on the talks, Al Jazeera reported, citing its sources.
An agreement could be announced on Thursday, the sources told Al Jazeera.
Palestine has accused Israel of waging a "genocidal war" in Gaza in a letter to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), warning that the devastation has reached unprecedented levels, Al Jazeera reported.
Published on the State of Palestine's official X account, the letter said, "while the rest of the world exerts all efforts to stop the bloodshed, Israel, the occupying power, persists with its genocidal war against the Palestinian people in Gaza".
It said Israel had "insisted on its criminal path of collective punishment", accusing it of destroying Palestinian society and pursuing the "colonisation and annexation" of occupied land, as per Al Jazeera.
According to the statement, "The casualty toll since October 2023 has surpassed at least 2,37,000 Palestinians in Gaza alone," with most homes and civilian infrastructure destroyed. It also warned that Israel's "all-out assault on Palestinian existence risks being replicated in the West Bank", citing rising settler violence and forced displacement.
"Israel's degradation of life and of international law must be halted. On this tragic second anniversary, we reiterate: This genocide must be stopped," the letter concluded. (ANI)