U.S. announces 20-point peace plan for Israel-Gaza war

U.S. president Donald Trump Monday evening announced a comprehensive 20-point peace plan for Gaza. The plan even got Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's public endorsement during Trump’s public address, as the duo met at the White House on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

“Today is a historic day for peace — and Prime Minister @netanyahu and I have just concluded an important meeting...we discussed how to end the war in Gaza, but it's just a part of the bigger picture, which is peace in the Middle East,” Trump said during his address.

The agreement stipulates that within three days from Monday all hostages must be returned to Israel. Once the hostage release is completed, Israel must release 250 prisoners serving life sentences and 1,700 Gaza citizens detained since the October 7, 2023 attacks.

“Within 72 hours of Israel publicly accepting this agreement, all hostages, alive and deceased, will be returned. Once all hostages are released, Israel will release 250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after October 7, 2023, including all women and children detained in that context. For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans. Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries,” the plan stated.

However, the plan can only succeed if Hamas accepts it. Media reports indicate that Hamas claims it has not yet been approached regarding the peace deal.

“Your plan to end the war in Gaza achieves our war aims. It will bring back all our hostages, dismantle Hamas' military capabilities, end its political rule, and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel. Your plan is consistent with the five principles my government set for the end of the war and the day after Hamas,” Netanyahu said during his address.

However, Netanyahu warned that if Hamas sets down counter offers to the agreement, Israel will bypass the entire agreement.

“We're giving everybody a chance to do this peacefully... But if Hamas rejects your plan, or if they accept it and then counter it, then Israel will finish the job by itself. This can be done the easy way or the hard way. But it will be done,” he said.

Further, the plan added that the region ‘temporarily’ be administered by a technocratic Palestinian committee managing public services, overseen by an international board of peace. This board will be chaired by Donald Trump, with members, including former British PM Tony Blair and other global leaders. The board’s mandate is to establish internationally compliant systems attractive to investment and long-term stability.

The board is set to govern the region and its funding until Palestine completes agreed reforms and is deemed capable of resuming control.

“Many thoughtful investment proposals and exciting development ideas have been crafted by well-meaning international groups and will be considered to synthesise the security and governance frameworks to attract and facilitate these investments that will create jobs, opportunity, and hope for future Gaza. A special economic zone will be established with preferred tariff and access rates to be negotiated with participating countries,” the plan added.

The plan also assures that Israel will not annex Gaza.

The United States will work with Arab and international partners to develop a temporary International Stabilisation Force (ISF) to immediately deploy in Gaza. The ISF will train and provide support to vetted Palestinian police forces in Gaza and will consult with Jordan and Egypt who have extensive experience in this field. This force will be the long-term internal security solution. The ISF will work with Israel and Egypt to help secure border areas, along with newly trained Palestinian police forces,” Trump’s plan stated.

Commenting on the plan, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said, “We have widespread support from Gulf countries. We have widespread support from the Europeans. Do we have details to still work out? Yes, but I think we're going to get to the finish line.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also welcomed the announcement and congratulated Trump for the peace deal.