Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel was preparing to initiate the ‘first stage’ of Donald Trump’s peace plan.
Netanyahu’s administration instructed the Israeli Defense Forces to halt their incursion into Gaza City and minimize activities in Gaza, according to a report from Israeli Army Radio.
They have been ordered to only act if in defense and will stop their plan to occupy the city and evacuate remaining residents.
This decision emerged after Hamas declared its agreement to release all Israeli captives and return the remains of the fallen in alignment with Donald Trump’s peace initiative for Gaza.
“In response to Hamas’ reaction to the Trump peace initiative, Israel is preparing to swiftly execute the initial phase of the Trump plan, which includes the prompt release of all captives,” Netanyahu stated.
“We will continue to collaborate fully with the president and his team to conclude the conflict in line with the principles set forth by Israel, which align with President Trump’s vision.”
On Friday afternoon, Trump posted a video celebrating the deal, though he similarly was waiting to get it ‘in concrete’ with Hamas and Israel.
He thanked Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Turkey alongside others for having ‘helped me put this together.’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed that Israel is ready to implement the “first stage” of Donald Trump’s peace initiative, seemingly referring to the hostages’ release.
It came after Trump posted a video celebrating the deal, though he similarly was waiting to get it ‘in concrete’ with Hamas and Israel
‘So many people fought so hard, this is a big day, we’ll see how it all turns out, we have to get the final word down in concrete,’ he said.
“Most importantly, I anticipate seeing the hostages reunite with their families, even considering the condition some may be in, because their families desire their return just as strongly, whether those young men or women are alive or not.”
He called the deal brokered between the two sides ‘maybe unprecedented’ and said it was ‘a special day.’
‘Thank you all and thank you all to those great countries that helped, we were given a tremendous amount of help. Everybody was unified in wanting this war to end and seeing peace in the Middle East and we’re very close to achieving that,’ Trump added.
The announcement comes just hours after the US president threatened to unleash ‘all hell’ on the jihadists if they did not agree to his peace proposal which was backed by Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
‘The movement announces its approval to release all occupation prisoners, alive and dead, according to the exchange formula mentioned in President Trump’s proposal,’ Hamas said in a statement.
The terrorists also agreed to hand over administrative control of Gaza to an independent body of Palestinian technocrats. It claimed those technocrats will be ‘based on Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support.’
Trump responded on his Truth Social platform that he believes Hamas are acting in good faith and demanded that Israel ‘immediately stop the bombing of Gaza so that we can get the hostages out.’
Trump and Netanyahu at the White House on Monday
Hamas fighters secure an area before handing over three Israeli hostages to a Red Cross team in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, on Saturday on February 8
‘Based on the Statement just issued by Hamas, I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE,’ the president said.
The terror group rejected Trump’s proposed chairmanship of a ‘Board of Peace’ that would rule over Gaza, with other leaders such as ex-British prime minister Tony Blair suggested as members. It also refused to completely disarm.
Hamas chief Mousa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera: ‘We will never accept anyone who is not Palestinian to control the Palestinians. We can’t bring someone like Tony Blair to be governor in Gaza because this man, he destroyed Iraq’.
The Islamists said that other elements of Trump’s 20-point peace plan regarding the future of Gaza ‘will be discussed through a comprehensive Palestinian national framework in which Hamas will participate and contribute responsibly.’
The jihadists praised Trump in its announcement, writing: ‘Hamas appreciates the Arab, Islamic, and international efforts, as well as the efforts of US President Donald Trump, calling for stopping the war on the Gaza Strip, exchanging prisoners, immediate entry of aid, rejecting the occupation of the Strip, and rejecting the displacement of our Palestinian people from it.’
Twenty hostages are thought to still remain in Hamas captivity, as well as the bodies of another 28 it has refused to send home to Israeli families since its barbaric attack on October 7, 2023.
Hamas’ statement comes a few hours after Trump issued a warning on Truth Social demanding the group accept his peace plan outlined earlier this week.
Trump threatened that ‘all hell’ will break out on the militants if they did not accept his plan by 6pm on Sunday. The deal includes that all remaining hostages are released within 72 hours of an agreement.
This handout picture released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO) shows Israeli hostage Emily Damari (2nd L) embracing a relative welcoming her at the Sheba medical center in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv, on January 19
Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday: ‘Hamas has been a ruthless and violent threat, for many years, in the Middle East! They have killed (and made lives unbearably miserable), culminating with the October 7th MASSACRE, in Israel, babies, woman, children, old people, and many young men and women, boys and girls, getting ready to celebrate their future lives together.’
Trump met Netanyahu earlier this week at the White House along with some of the Israeli PM’s top team, and agreed on a new peace deal for Gaza.
The White House released a 20-point plan, which included increasing aid to Gaza and an economic development proposal that includes preferred tariffs and access rates.
Hamas is pushing back against disarming, according to Arab mediators in Doha, Qatar, stating that they must retain defensive capabilities.
The terror organization said it would be willing to handover offensive weapons to Egypt and the United Nations for storage.
Hamas has also reiterated its demand for a timeline for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.
Previous attempts to pressure the Islamists into agreeing a peace deal, including threats from US envoy Steve Witkoff, have failed to yield an outcome.
Negotiations almost collapsed last month after Israel’s strike on Qatar, which has been a crucial mediator in the discussions.
Since then, Trump has managed to gain support from Netanyahu as well as the key Arab power brokers in the region.
