On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump directed Israel to halt its bombing of the Gaza Strip after Hamas indicated that it was open to some parts of his plan to conclude the nearly two-year conflict and free all remaining hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
Hamas announced its readiness to release the hostages and transfer power to other Palestinian authorities, though it stated that various facets of the plan would require additional consultations among Palestinians. Senior officials from Hamas hinted that significant disagreements persist, necessitating further negotiations.
Israel had not immediately responded, partly due to the national observance of the Jewish Sabbath, while Hamas’ response did not align with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conditions that demand disarmament and surrender by the group.
But Trump welcomed the Hamas statement, saying: “I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE.”
“Israel must immediately stop the Gaza bombings, ensuring we can safely and swiftly retrieve the hostages! The current situation is too perilous for such actions,” Trump posted on social media, adding that they are already in talks about the finer details that need to be addressed.
Hamas emphasized that decisions affecting the Gaza Strip’s future and Palestinian rights should depend on a “unanimous Palestinian stance,” agreed upon with other factions and grounded in international law.
The statement also made no mention of Hamas disarming, a key Israeli demand included in Trump’s proposal.
Trump’s plan would end the fighting and return hostages
Trump seems determined to fulfill his commitments to conclude the war and ensure the return of many hostages before the attack’s second anniversary on Tuesday. His peace strategy has gained acceptance from Israel and received a positive international reception.
Key mediators Egypt and Qatar welcomed the latest developments, and Majed Al Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, said they would “continue discussions on the plan.”
A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he “urges all parties to seize the opportunity to bring the tragic conflict in Gaza to an end.” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media that “the release of all hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza are within reach!”
Earlier, Trump had warned that Hamas must agree to the deal by Sunday evening, threatening an even greater military onslaught.
“If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,” Trump wrote Friday on social media. “THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.”
Under the plan, which Trump unveiled earlier this week alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hamas would immediately release the remaining 48 hostages – around 20 of them believed to be alive. It would also give up power and disarm.
In return, Israel would halt its offensive and withdraw from much of the territory, release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and allow an influx of humanitarian aid and eventual reconstruction. Plans to relocate much of Gaza’s population to other countries would be shelved.
The territory of some 2 million Palestinians would be placed under international governance, with Trump himself and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair overseeing it. The plan provides no path for eventual reunification with the Israeli-occupied West Bank in a future Palestinian state.
Palestinians long for an end to the war, but many view this and previous U.S. proposals as strongly favoring Israel.
Hamas officials air objections in TV interviews
Trump’s proposal “cannot be implemented without negotiations,” Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official based outside of Gaza, told the Al Jazeera network.
The Hamas statement said it was willing to return all remaining hostages according to the plan’s “formula,” likely referring to the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange. It also reiterated its longstanding openness to handing power over to a politically independent Palestinian body.
But Abu Marzouk said it might be difficult for Hamas to release all the hostages within 72 hours as the proposal dictates, because it could take days or weeks to locate the remains of some of the captives.
He said Hamas was willing to hand over its weapons to a future Palestinian body that runs Gaza, but there was no mention of that in the official statement.
Another Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, told Al Araby television that Hamas would refuse foreign administration of the Gaza Strip and that the entry of foreign forces would be “unacceptable.”
US and Israel seek to pressure Hamas
Israel has sought to ramp up pressure on Hamas since ending an earlier ceasefire in March. It sealed the territory off from food, medicine and other goods for 2 1/2 months and has seized, flattened and largely depopulated large areas.
Experts determined that Gaza City had slid into famine shortly before Israel launched a major offensive aimed at occupying it. An estimated 400,000 people have fled the city in recent weeks, but hundreds of thousands more have stayed behind.
Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the U.N. humanitarian office, said she saw several displaced families staying in the parking lot of Shifa Hospital during a visit on Thursday.
“They are not able to move south because they just cannot afford it,” Cherevko told The Associated Press. “One of the families had three children and the woman was pregnant with her fourth. And there were many other vulnerable cases there, including elderly people and people with disabilities.”
Most of Hamas’ top leaders in Gaza and thousands of its fighters have already been killed, but it still has influence in areas not controlled by the Israeli military and launches sporadic attacks.
Hamas has long insisted it will only release the remaining hostages – its sole bargaining chip and potential human shields – in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu has rejected those terms, saying Hamas must surrender and disarm.
Second anniversary approaches
Thousands of Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, attacking army bases, farming communities and an outdoor music festival, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. They abducted 251 others, most of them since released in ceasefires or other deals.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants. It says women and children make up around half the dead.
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.
The offensive has displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population, often multiple times, and left much of the territory uninhabitable.
Both the Biden and Trump administrations have tried to end the fighting and bring back the hostages while providing extensive military and diplomatic support to Israel.
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Mroue reported from Beirut and Krauss from Ottawa, Ontario. Associated Press writers Fatma Khaled in Cairo and Chris Megerian in Washington contributed.
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