(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Lee Yu-mi = U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the 9th (local time) that all 20 Israeli hostages held by Hamas will be released on the 13th or 14th in relation to the agreement between Israel and Hamas on the first phase of the 'Gaza peace plan.'

"Last night we reached a major breakthrough in the Middle East, something many people said would never happen," Trump said at a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

He continued,"We have ended the Gaza regional war, and on a larger scale, we have created peace. I hope that it will be a lasting peace, an eternal peace."

"We have secured the release of all remaining hostages," Trump said."They will be released on Monday (the 13th) or Tuesday (the 14th)."

"Bringing them in is a very complex process," he said."I'm not going to tell you what we have to do to get the hostages out. There are places you don't want to go, but we'll get them out on Monday or Tuesday."

President Trump said,"It will be a day of joy," adding,"I intend to visit in person."

This appears to indicate his intention to go to Egypt, where ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas are underway, and directly or indirectly participate in finalizing the agreement and ensuring the release of the hostages.

"Every American should be proud of the role our country played in ending this terrible war," Trump said."We've ended seven wars, and this is the eighth."

He added,"The thing I thought would end the fastest was the Russo-Ukrainian war, and I think that will be resolved as well."

"I'm leaving for the Middle East very soon, and I'm very honored to be a part of it," Trump said."People are very excited about this. I've never seen such global acclaim for something that's been accomplished."

President Trump said Iran also supported the Gaza peace initiative, adding,"We will work with Iran." However, he added,"We have significant sanctions on Iran, and we hope they can rebuild their country, but not have nuclear weapons."

President Trump, after signing the Phase 1 agreement, said of the Phase 2 deal,"We're going to have disarming," adding,"A lot of things are going to happen." This appears to refer to the disarmament of Hamas.

When asked by reporters about his views on the"two-state solution" in which Israel and Palestine coexist, he said,"I don't have an opinion. I will do what they agree on," indicating that the agreement between the parties is important.

President Trump singled out Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and White House Chief of Staff Suzy Wiles for their efforts in reaching the Gaza deal.

Secretary Rubio gave credit to President Trump, saying,"It is no exaggeration to say that none of this would have been possible without the direct involvement of the President of the United States."

"Honestly, there's no leader in the world who could do this, and I don't know of any modern American president who could do this," he said, praising Trump.

The previous day, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on the first phase of the Gaza peace plan spearheaded by President Trump. Accordingly, the release of the 20 Israeli hostages held by Hamas will soon begin, and Israeli troops will begin a gradual withdrawal.