WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says Israel and Hamas have agreed to the “first Phase” of his peace plan to pause fighting and release at least some hostages and prisoners.

“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,” Trump wrote on Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "With God’s help, we will bring them all home.”

Negotiators have been meeting in Egypt for days to hash out a Trump-backed peace plan that he hopes will ultimately result in a permanent end to the two-year war.

The war began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, many of them civilians.

Israel’s retaliatory

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