Trump’s Gaza peace plan – what you need to know

Donald Trump has laid out a 20-point peace plan for Gaza – but what does it actually say, and will it work?

The document details what the Trump administration calls a “comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict”, and indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are now taking place in Egypt.

Here are some of the key clauses in the peace plan – and what Sky News correspondents make of them.

Gaza ‘to be redeveloped for’ its people

The first two points say Gaza will become “a deradicalised terror-free zone” and “redeveloped for the benefit of” the enclave’s people – but the role they’ll have is unclear, says US correspondent Mark Stone.

“Beyond Hamas, there is no defined role for the Palestinians beyond vague assurances that they can take over once reform has taken place,” he explains.

What’s clear is that Hamas would have to agree to full disarmament and complete removal from the administration of Gaza.

“Like it or not, this plan cannot proceed without [Hamas’s] buy-in,” he said. “And, as has always been the case, their agreement to this plan would amount to suicide for their movement.

“The bet by the Trump administration and by the Israeli government is that Hamas is now so diminished and exhausted as an organisation that they will be forced to accept it.”

All hostages to be released

The plan states that within 72 hours of the agreement being accepted, “all hostages, alive and deceased will be returned”.

A total of 48 hostages are still being held captive by Hamas and Israel believes about 20 of them are still alive.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was prepared for the implementation of the “first stage” of Mr Trump’s plan, apparently in reference to the release of hostages.

Middle East correspondent Adam Parsons says securing their release is crucial for Mr Netanyahu.

“I think Netanyahu’s gamble is that he will be seen as a statesman,” he said, “if he can bring home the hostages and do that deal, stop the casualties being suffered by the Israeli military, [and] stop the increasing… anger over the number of people who are being killed by Israeli bombardments in Gaza.”

The draft agreement states that once the hostages have been released, Israel will release 1,950 Palestinian prisoners, including all women and children who were detained after 7 October 2023.

“For every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel will release the remains of 15 deceased Gazans,” it adds.

Follow live updates on negotiations in Egypt

Hamas responds to plan – with ‘yes, but’

Hamas released a statement agreeing to release the Israeli hostages “both living and dead”.

It also said it wanted to engage in negotiations to discuss further details of the president’s peace plan, including handing over “administration of the enclave to a Palestinian body of independent technocrats”.

However, other aspects of the 20-point document, it warned, would require further consultation among Palestinians.

Mr Trump shared the response on his social media, and he and his administration labelled it as Hamas accepting the plan.

But Stone said it was “by no means an unequivocal acceptance of the 20-point plan,” and rather a “yes, but”.

What are the other key points?

Some of the other significant guarantees include a promise that nobody will be forced to leave the Gaza Strip, and that Israel will not occupy or annex Gaza.

The document also states that full aid will “proceed without interference […] through the UN, its agencies, the Red Crescent and other international institutions”.

Tony Blair to be on the ‘Board of Peace’

The plan states that a temporary governing board will be put in charge of Gaza – and just one person has so far been confirmed to join Donald Trump on what he’s calling the ‘Board of Peace’: Sir Tony Blair.

Chief political correspondent Jon Craig says the appointment was “controversial but not a surprise”.

“Sir Tony Blair has been one of the key architects of this peace plan,” he said. “It’s a Blair blueprint to a large extent, he went to the White House to discuss it in August.”

Sir Tony “gets on well” with Mr Netanyahu, he added. The former British prime minister’s experience in the Middle East goes back nearly 30 years and in the 1990s he was involved in talks with then Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

“From President Trump’s point of view, and indeed Benjamin Netanyahu’s, it makes sense because [Blair] is an experienced negotiator and go-between power broker in the Middle East,” Craig said.

‘Still huge unknowns’

International correspondent Alex Rossi says that despite the peace plan having 20 points, there are two main components.

“The first bit is about achieving a ceasefire and bringing back the hostages, the second is about achieving a comprehensive peace in the wider region and the distant prospect of Palestinian statehood,” he says.

“It goes without saying that ushering in a ceasefire, while not easy, is far more achievable than resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict completely.”

He says this is clearly a “significant moment” in the Middle East and that both sides’ willingness to negotiate over the plan is giving it “real momentum”.

But he also says there are still “huge unknowns”.

“Trump’s 20-point plan is ambitious, but vague,” he says. “It leaves many questions unanswered about borders, reconstruction, governance and security, as well as Palestinian self-determination. All of them radioactive issues that have destroyed previous efforts for peace.”