MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Some news tonight - President Trump says the first phase of an agreement has been reached to end the war in Gaza. And he says he may travel to Egypt this weekend if that's the case, Egypt is where peace talks have been underway. Trump made the announcement on social media a couple of hours after his Secretary of State handed him a note during an event at the White House. Here's the president on a peace deal and his involvement in the talks.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It's something, I think, that will happen, got a good chance of happening. I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday, actually. And we'll see, but there's a very good chance.
KELLY: Here now to tell us more is NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Hey, Franco.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Hey, Mary Louise.
KELLY: So it's been a busy last few hours. Just walk us through the lead-up to this announcement.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, I mean, it really has. I mean, Trump was actually hosting an unrelated meeting on antifa at the White House when his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, walked in. And you could actually see, when Rubio sat down, he started to scribble something on a piece of paper before handing it to the president and whispering something in his ear.
Actually, an AP photographer captured an image of that note, and it read, very close, we need you to approve a Truth Social post soon, so you can announce the deal first. Trump then announced there in the meeting that he was needed by his team and that they were close to the deal. And just a few hours later, just a little bit ago, we got the Truth Social post announcing the actual agreement.
KELLY: OK, so I know details are still scarce as of this moment when you and I are speaking, Franco, and I want to be careful, but what do we know of what has been agreed?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, I mean, that's right. I mean, Trump did say that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first phase of the peace plan, and that does include the release of all remaining hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. Now, Israel would in turn release more than 2,000 Palestinian detainees. It also means that Israel would partially withdraw its troops from Gaza to an agreed-upon kind of line. And it was all finalized in Egypt this week where top officials from the U.S. and regional partners, along with delegations from Israel and Hamas, have been kind of huddling together and working through the U.S.'s 20-point plan to end the war.
KELLY: Speaking of top officials, has Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - has he weighed in yet?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah, he just weighed in. He actually posted on X that it was a, quote, "big day for Israel," and he thanked President Trump for his commitment to this effort. He also said that he was going to convene the Israeli government tomorrow to approve the agreement. And of course, he thanked his own soldiers and all the security forces for everything they have done and all their sacrifices.
KELLY: Just about 30 seconds left, but how does this fit into the image that President Trump has been touting of himself as a peacemaker?
ORDOÑEZ: I mean, this is something that he campaigned on, ending this conflict. In his inauguration speech, he talked about wanting to be remembered as a peacemaker. But, Mary Louise, I do want to make sure that we note that there is still a lot of uncertainty here. You know, this is a conflict that's been going on for generations. Talks have been going on for months. There have been numerous failed ceasefires. And really, so many foreign policy experts I speak with argue that Trump has a tendency to announce peace deals before peace actually happens.
KELLY: We will see if this one sticks. Thank you, Franco.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you.
KELLY: White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
