Trump says Hamas ready for peace, urges Israel to halt bombing Gaza

U.S. President Donald Trump called on Israel Friday to stop bombing the Gaza Strip after Hamas said it had accepted some elements of his plan to end the nearly two-year war and return all the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Hamas 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. Senior Hamas officials suggested there were still major disagreements that required negotiations.

There was no immediate response from Israel, which is largely shut down for the Sabbath, and Hamas’ response fell short of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demands that the group surrender and disarm.

But Mr. 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,” he wrote on social media.

Hamas said aspects of the proposal touching on the future of the Gaza Strip and Palestinian rights should be decided on the basis of a “unanimous Palestinian stance” reached with other factions.

International reaction

President 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. His peace plan has been accepted by Israel and welcomed internationally.

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!”

Mr. Trump had warned on social media earlier Friday that Hamas must agree to “this LAST CHANCE agreement” by Sunday evening, threatening an even greater military onslaught: “THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.”

Under the plan, which Mr. Trump unveiled earlier this week alongside Mr. Netanyahu, Hamas would immediately release the remaining 48 hostages, around 20 of whom are 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 Mr. 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.

Hamas objections

Palestinians long for an end to the war, but many view this and previous U.S. proposals as strongly favoring Israel.

Mr. 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 Mr. 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.”

Israeli pressure

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.

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. Mr. Netanyahu has rejected those terms.

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.