Hamas said Friday it was ready to release the remaining hostages in Gaza as long as certain conditions of a broader peace agreement were met, offering no clear position on other elements of President Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
Late Friday, the U.S.-designated terrorist group submitted its official response to mediators, thanking Trump for his efforts to end the war but asking for several clarifications including a timeline for Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza, clarification over defensive and offensive weapons as well as guarantees over ending the war.
Trump responded positively to Hamas’s message and urged Israel to stop the bombing as all sides hash out details of a finalized deal, a negotiation that could extend beyond his Sunday evening deadline for the group’s agreement to a peace deal.
“I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE,” Trump posted on social media.
Later in an address from the Oval Office, Trump thanked a number of Arab countries for helping to mediate. “This is a big day, we’ll see how it all turns out,” he said. “We have to get the final word down and concrete.”
Trump said Israel must stop bombing Gaza so the hostages can be released safely.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his own caveated reaction to Hamas’s response, said Israel would begin preparations for the release of hostages held in Gaza and work with Trump to end the war on Israel and the president’s terms.
Israel’s military didn’t specifically commit to stopping its attacks, but indicated it was moving to a more defensive posture, saying it would prepare for the release of the hostages and react quickly to any threat.
In order to end the war and ensure the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, Hamas announced “its agreement to release all occupation prisoners—both living and the remains of the deceased—according to the exchange formula set forth in President Trump’s proposal,” the group said in a statement.
“As for the other issues in President Trump’s proposal relating to the future of Gaza and the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, these are tied to a comprehensive national position, rooted in relevant international laws and resolutions, to be discussed within an inclusive Palestinian national framework —of which Hamas will be part and to which it will contribute with full responsibility.”
As many as 20 of the 48 remaining hostages are believed to still be alive.
Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, told Al Jazeera on Friday that “we agreed to the plan’s main outlines in principle, but its implementation requires negotiations”—a sign that the group wants more talks before fully signing off on Trump’s deal. “The plan cannot be implemented without negotiations.”
Releasing the hostages within 72 hours, he added, would be unrealistic under current conditions. Hamas has lost contact in recent weeks with some other militant groups holding a number of them, mediators have said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on social media posted a picture of Trump filming a video about Hamas’s “acceptance of his Peace Plan.”
The chain of dramatic events was set in motion earlier Friday, when Trump said Hamas had until 6 p.m. on Sunday to support a 20-point peace plan the U.S. and Israel agreed to on Monday. If Hamas blew through his deadline, “all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out.”
“THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER,” Trump further wrote. Some Hamas fighters are trapped, the president continued, “waiting for me to give the word, ‘GO,’ for their lives to be quickly extinguished.”
Trump’s peace plan, if adopted, would see all 48 hostages released and the president chair a “Board of Peace” to oversee the interim governance of Gaza. Aid would flow into the enclave and an Arab-led stabilization force would swiftly keep order.
Israeli forces would, over time, withdraw from the battlefield while maintaining a security buffer zone around Gaza. And Hamas would lay down its arms while forever renouncing its leadership role.
Hamas officials in Doha have indicated they are willing to accept Trump’s peace plan but are pushing to modify some of its terms, according to Arab mediators who have been in talks with the group this week.
The mediators said the militant group is asking for a number of changes, including the stipulation that it disarm and destroy its weapons, a demand Hamas has previously rejected. Hamas is willing to hand over its offensive weapons to Egypt and the United Nations for storage, but wants to retain what it considers defense systems, the mediators said.
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