Trump welcomed the Hamas statement, saying: “I believe they are ready for a lasting peace.”
ADVERTISEMENT
US President Donald Trump, on Friday, in a social media post said Israel must stop bombing the Gaza Strip after Hamas said it had accepted some elements of his peace plan to end the nearly two-year war.
Hamas, in its partial agreement to the plan, had said it was willing to release the hostages and hand over power to other Palestinians, but that other aspects of the plan require further consultations among Palestinians.
Taking to his social media page, Trump welcomed the Hamas statement, saying: “I believe they are ready for a lasting peace.”
“Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly! Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that. We are already in discussions on details to be worked out,” the US president wrote.
He later released a celebratory video where he thanked Arab and Muslim countries, specifically Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey, along with “so many others.”
“This is a big day,” the US president said. “We’ll see how it all turns out. We have to get the final word down in concrete.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his response, said Israel was prepared for the implementation of the “first stage” of Trump’s plan, apparently referring to the release of hostages.
But his office later said in a statement that Israel was committed to ending the war based on principles it had set out before, without addressing potential gaps with Hamas.
Latest ceasefire effort widely welcomed
Trump appears keen to deliver on pledges to end the war and return dozens of hostages ahead of the second anniversary of the attack on Tuesday.
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 UN Secretary-General António 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!”
The main organisation representing the families of Israeli hostages said Trump’s demand to halt the fighting “is essential to prevent serious and irreversible harm to the hostages.” It called on Netanyahu “to immediately begin efficient and swift negotiations to bring all our hostages home.”
Despite the positive signals, key issues and demands in the peace plan remain unclear and are yet to be decided.
Hamas, in its response, said aspects of the proposal touching on the future of the Gaza Strip and Palestinian rights should be decided based on a “unanimous Palestinian stance” reached with other factions and based on international law.
Its statement also made no mention of Hamas disarming, a key Israeli demand included in Trump’s proposal.
Under the plan, which Trump unveiled earlier this week alongside Netanyahu, Hamas would release the remaining 48 hostages — around 20 of them believed to be alive — within three days. 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.
Gaza, with 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.