Israel-Gaza live updates: Trump says Israel and Hamas signed off on 1st phase of peace deal

The agreement between Israel and Hamas announced Wednesday concerns the initial steps of a U.S.-backed framework for peace in Gaza — but not the entirety of President Donald Trump’s sweeping 20-point plan unveiled last week.

Officials familiar with the negotiations say the talks have been almost singularly focused on what would happen in the initial few days and weeks of the deal: the partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the exchange of the nearly 50 living and dead hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

Some of the most difficult points, such as the governance of Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas fighters, will still need to be negotiated down the line, officials say.

Still, there was building optimism through the week that talks were on the verge of a major breakthrough — and the deal in principle on the first phase ultimately beat expectations. Some officials felt earlier that they would be lucky to get things tied up before the weekend.

It’s not the first time, however, that the U.S. has brokered a multi-part agreement aimed at ending the conflict that includes the release of hostages in an initial phase.

At the beginning of the year, the Trump and Biden administrations, along with other mediators, brokered a three-phase agreement, which ultimately fell apart after the release of more than 30 hostages — before negotiations on a second phase of the framework could truly get underway.

-ABC News’ Shannon Kingston