Simply earlier than an Israel-Hamas ceasefire went into impact Friday, which is step one in implementing section certainly one of President Trump’s peace plan to finish the battle in Gaza, senior U.S. officers shared a timeline of the monthslong effort to place the deal collectively.
At this level, Israeli troops have withdrawn from elements of Gaza, initiating a 72-hour countdown for Hamas to launch all remaining Israeli hostages. In alternate, Israel will launch dozens of Palestinian prisoners and permit support to movement into Gaza. Palestinians who left northern Gaza throughout combating there could possibly be seen returning to the war-ravaged space Friday.
The overwhelming majority of Mr. Trump’s 20-point plan stays to be applied, however because the work of fulfilling it begins, this is what senior U.S. officers have instructed CBS Information about key moments within the negotiations.
August 2025: Hamas accepts new ceasefire proposal
Hamas accepted a brand new Gaza ceasefire proposal introduced by Egypt and Qatar. One U.S. official mentioned this proposal drew upon ideas from earlier negotiations and former hostage releases. It additionally took into consideration components of what Israel, Hamas and Mr. Trump needed to be included. It was this proposal that will evolve into the 20-point plan.
Round Monday, Sept. 22 by means of Wednesday, Sept. 24: Witkoff, Kushner convey 20-point plan to Qataris to “tighten it up”
In New York in the course of the United Nations Normal Meeting, particular Center East envoy Steve Witkoff and outdoors Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner introduced the 20-point plan to the Qataris, specifically, to Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, with whom they labored to “wordsmith the doc, to tailor it, to tighten it up,” a senior U.S. official mentioned. Afterward, they introduced the doc to different Arab leaders to get suggestions.
The senior official mentioned negotiators met with Turkey and Egypt, along with Qatar. On Tuesday, Sept. 23, throughout his day on the United Nations Normal Meeting, President Trump introduced the 20-point plan to a roundtable of Arab leaders, which elicited “lots of suggestions.”
Wednesday, Sept. 24 by means of Sunday, Sept. 28: Witkoff, Kushner draft plan that features Netanyahu apology to Qatar for airstrike in Doha
Witkoff and Kushner stayed in New York Metropolis after the U.N. Normal Meeting, working by means of the weekend to place collectively a plan to current to Mr. Trump within the Oval Workplace on Monday, Sept. 29.
Their plan included an apology from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Mohammed, the Qatari prime minister, for an Israeli strike that killed Hamas officers in Doha in September. “All of it went nicely,” a senior U.S. official mentioned.
Monday, Sept. 29: Netanyahu’s apology to Qatar
Mr. Trump introduced the 20-point proposal throughout a gathering with Netanyahu on the White Home. That day, the president, Netanyahu and the Qatari prime minister spoke on a cellphone name, and Netanyahu apologized for Israel’s strikes on Doha, expressing “his deep remorse that Israel’s missile strike in opposition to Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman,” in keeping with a White Home readout of the decision.
The Israeli strike had prompted “lots of angst inside the Arab world” and there was “deep distrust between the events,” a senior U.S. official mentioned, including that Netanyahu’s apology to Qatar was nicely obtained, “as one thing actually, actually robust and the kind of factor that mature individuals do.”
“That obtained us some leverage,” the official added.
Round this time, an official mentioned the U.S. started to detect Hamas “had had sufficient.”
“Each household in Gaza has been affected by this,” the official mentioned. “You learn among the public opinion of polls — the Gazans don’t simply blame Israel for this battle. They, largely, had been blaming Hamas for it. We started to sense that flip in leverage.”
Inside days, there could be a gathering in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, with the Turkish and Egyptian intelligence chiefs and the Qatari prime minister.
Friday, Oct. 3: in Miami, Kushner, Witkoff work on hostage releases
In Florida, when Kushner heard Hamas had agreed to start out talks on hostage releases, he drove 20 minutes to Witkoff’s dwelling in Miami, the place they labored and fielded calls concerning the peace proposal, two administration officers mentioned.
Sunday, Oct. 5 – Monday, Oct. 6: Conferences in Sharm El Sheikh convey Hamas and Israel to the desk
Officers from Turkey, Qatar and Egypt sat down with Hamas and Israel on the desk in Sharm El Sheikh on Oct. 5. Witkoff and Kushner set off for Sharm El Sheikh as soon as they felt the tactical groups “had executed fairly a bit.”
Wednesday morning, Sharm El Sheikh, Oct. 8: Refining the peace plan
Kushner and Witkoff arrived in Sharm El Sheikh at 6:30 a.m. native time and “instantly went to work,” in keeping with one senior U.S. official. They spent “lots of time” going over proposals and points that had arisen over the earlier days, such because the redeployment of the Israel Protection Forces and when the hostage releases would happen.
Throughout these talks, in addition they separated the peace deal into two phases. Section one could be a hostage launch, together with the discharge of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Then, section two would start. This was what one senior U.S. official referred to as an “nearly everlasting ceasefire” that will be in place till different points had been negotiated: the decommissioning of arms, how a technocratic authorities would enter and run Gaza, how the Israeli military would redeploy and what the gating mechanisms for these steps could be.
Earlier than they left, Mr. Trump relayed a number of messages to Kushner and Witkoff.
“His message was, ‘First, get it executed,'” a U.S. official mentioned. He additionally reiterated that he stood behind each facet of his 20-point plan.
“POTUS needed individuals on each side to grasp that he was going to implement good conduct right here, and that was a important and overarching message that we had been there to speak about,” this official mentioned.
“We had been going for, you realize, 20 straight hours,” one official mentioned of the talks in Egypt.
Sharm El Sheikh, Oct. 8, Wednesday night: “Severe breakthroughs”
“We started to have some very, very severe breakthroughs with regard to all of those points,” the U.S. official mentioned, prompting one other assembly Wednesday evening with Kushner, Witkoff and Center East officers.
After settling what each side noticed as consequential points that had been mentioned by each side, and clearing up some “misconceptions and miscommunications,” Kushner and Witkoff made a name to the president and obtained some instructions from him. Mr. Trump referred to as into the talks at the very least thrice on both Witkoff’s or Kushner’s iPhone, and spoke on speaker with a number of stakeholders.
One of many key breakthroughs that night was reaching consensus on the discharge of the 20 residing Israeli hostages and the swap for the Palestinian prisoners.
“Folks turned extra malleable. You can see it as we had been trust-building. Meals was coming in. We had been exchanging concepts,” one U.S. official mentioned. “I am unable to stress sufficient how necessary this bodily interplay was. We had a number of Arab leaders there who, I believe, turned very, purchased into the truth that we actually needed to see a deal. We had been dedicated to it, and we had been going to face behind it.”
Presently, Hamas started to appreciate “they did not want the hostages essentially to implement a view of theirs, that it was higher for them to concede {that a} launch was a constructive factor, that higher issues would occur on account of that call on their half,” a U.S. official mentioned.
“It was so complete, the engagement, so interactive. We simply obtained ourselves to that place, after which all people may see the road, they usually needed to cross it. Everyone. It actually turned a unanimous factor,” this official added.
5:30 p.m., Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 8 (2:30 a.m., Sharm El Sheikh, Thursday, Oct. 9): Asserting the deal
Witkoff and Kushner felt that they had handled all the problems and had been able to announce the deal. President Trump introduced it within the U.S. on Reality Social.
“It is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the USA of America,” the president wrote on Reality Social. “BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
Witkoff and Kushner then traveled to Cairo, and met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to inform him he was wanted for the implementation section. After the El-Sisi assembly, Witkoff and Kushner flew to Tel Aviv.
6:30p, Tel Aviv, Thursday, Oct. 9: Witkoff, Kushner met with applause in Cupboard room
Witkoff and Kushner arrive in Tel Aviv, although they by no means made it to their resort. They instantly went to see President Isaac Herzog, to stroll him by means of the plan, after which met with Netanyahu. In addition they spoke to the Israeli Cupboard, receiving a heat welcome.
Within the Cupboard room, “all people began clapping,” a U.S. official mentioned. “There have been loads of variations of opinion that we heard there. There have been hardliners, there have been individuals who needed to see the 20 hostages come dwelling above all else, however we talked, and we explored completely different pathways to get to good compromises.”
Their purpose for going to Israel was to make sure “implementation happens.” One other senior U.S. official acknowledged, “There’s nonetheless simply lots of ways in which this could go improper.”
“So, we’re staying on high of the main points to verify everybody fulfills their obligations and that any misunderstandings are rapidly mentioned and adjudicated,” the official mentioned.
A U.S. official instructed Mr. Trump could have succeeded in reaching a deal the place different leaders failed as a result of “he is not making an attempt to be a middle-of-the-roader.”
“He is principally stood shoulder to shoulder with Israel 100%,” the official mentioned. This has meant Israel “has lots of belief in him that he is not going to ask them to do something that will compromise their safety. And since they know that in the event that they agree collectively on what the tip state ought to be, President Trump and his group had been in a position to have way more frank and inventive conversations with Israel on easy methods to get there.”
