Hamas is considering a peace proposal for Gaza, put forward by Donald Trump, that would see the terror group hand over their weapons.
The US president, together with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, announced last night that he plans to temporarily govern Gaza as part of his strategy for achieving ‘eternal peace in the Middle East’.
Leaders from Europe and the Middle East have expressed support for the agreement. The foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan issued a joint statement applauding Trump’s ‘leadership and his genuine efforts to bring an end to the conflict in Gaza’.
They also stated their willingness to cooperate with the US to finalize the deal, which they hope will lead to a ‘two-state solution, where Gaza is fully integrated with the West Bank within a Palestinian state’.
However, key Israeli ministers expressed strong opposition to the proposal, with finance minister Bezalel Smotrich characterizing it as a ‘historic missed opportunity’ that will ‘end in tears’.
Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, indicated his optimism with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s positive reaction, stating: ‘All parties must seize this moment to give peace a genuine chance’.
Sir Keir Starmer also expressed support for the plan, urging: ‘We call on all sides to come together and to work with the US Administration to finalize this agreement and bring it into reality.
‘Hamas should now agree to the plan and end the misery, by laying down their arms and releasing all remaining hostages,’ Sir Keir added.
French President Emmanuel Macron said: ‘France stands ready to contribute to the efforts to end the war and release hostages.
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both pictured, shake hands at the conclusion of a joint press conference in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC on September 29, 2025
‘These elements must pave the way for in-depth discussions with all relevant partners to build a lasting peace in the region, based on the two-state solution.’
And Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, said in a statement that the proposal ‘could represent a turning point in this process’.
She added that Hamas must have no role in governance, ‘directly, indirectly, or in any form’.
Trump pledged not only an ‘immediate end to the war’ in the Strip but ‘the whole deal’ to stop conflict that has ravaged the entire region for ‘thousands of years’.
And he said Sir Tony Blair would work alongside him on a transitional board to oversee the process if Hamas accept his 20-point peace plan.
This 20-point plan, which Hamas said it was reviewing ‘in good faith’, would see the terror group get disarmed. The plan states that Hamas members who ‘commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty’.
Trump’s plan would also see the Gaza Strip be run by Trump under a post-war authority.
Despite the positive reaction to the deal, Netanyahu starkly warned Hamas that Israel would ‘finish the job by itself’ if the terror group rejected the proposal.
Smoke billows following an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, on September 29, 2025
Trump said the Israeli leader would have his ‘full backing’ to do so if Hamas did not agree.
The Gaza war was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians.
Israel’s offensive has reduced much of Gaza to rubble and killed 66,055 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
