Ready for negotiations: Hamas responds to Trump’s proposal to end Gaza war; Israel reacts
Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories: Hamas on Friday announced its willingness to begin immediate negotiations on freeing Israeli hostages and ending the Gaza war, responding positively to US President Donald Trump’s call for Israel to suspend airstrikes on the Palestinian territory.
Trump’s 20-point peace proposal, which has the backing of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, lays out a roadmap that includes a halt to fighting, the release of hostages within 72 hours, a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and Hamas’s disarmament. However, Hamas made no mention of disarmament in its initial response.
The plan also stipulates that Hamas and other factions will not be part of Gaza’s post-war governance, which a technocratic body would instead oversee under a transitional authority led by Trump himself.
“President Trump’s statements on the immediate cessation of Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip are encouraging,” Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu told AFP.
“Hamas is ready to immediately begin negotiations to achieve a prisoner exchange, end the war and ensure the withdrawal of the (Israeli) army from the Gaza Strip,” he added.
Trump, in turn, welcomed Hamas’s earlier statement that it was committed to a “lasting peace”, after he gave the group until Sunday evening to accept the US plan or face “all hell”. Hamas had also said it would hand over power in Gaza to a body of Palestinian technocrats, while still wanting to “participate and contribute responsibly” in wider Palestinian discussions about the territory’s future.
Israel’s reaction
Israel is moving to implement the first phase of US President Donald Trump's plan to release Israeli hostages in Gaza, following Hamas’s readiness for peace talks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday.
"In light of Hamas's response, Israel is preparing for the immediate implementation of the first stage of the Trump plan for the release of all the hostages," the statement said.
"We will continue to work in full cooperation with the President and his team to end the war in accordance with the principles set out by Israel, which align with President Trump's vision," it added.
Global reactions
The move was met with cautious optimism from mediators and world leaders. Qatar and Egypt, who have been central to mediation efforts, said Hamas’s response was a positive step towards ending the conflict. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “urges all parties to seize the opportunity,” his spokesman said. French President Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, and Britain’s Keir Starmer also hailed it as a potential breakthrough.
Continued bombardment
Despite the diplomatic developments, the fighting in Gaza raged on Friday. Gaza’s civil defence agency reported heavy Israeli air and artillery bombardments on Gaza City, claiming 11 deaths across the territory, including eight in Gaza City. The Israeli military did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment.
Due to media restrictions and limited access, AFP was unable to verify the casualty figures independently.
The Israeli offensive has focused on Gaza City, displacing hundreds of thousands of residents. The UN reiterated there was “no safe place in Gaza”, warning that areas designated by Israel in the south had become “places of death”. Amnesty International condemned what it called a “catastrophic wave of mass displacement”.
Meanwhile, global outrage intensified after Israel intercepted the last vessel of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was attempting to deliver aid and pro-Palestinian activists to Gaza. Israel said it had deported four Italian participants.
Debate within Hamas
Sources close to Hamas leadership told AFP the group was divided over Trump’s proposal. Some leaders argued for “unconditional approval”, while others expressed “serious reservations”, particularly regarding disarmament.
Hamas leaders are also seeking “international guarantees” to ensure a full Israeli withdrawal and protection against assassination attempts inside or outside Gaza, a Palestinian source said.
The Islamist group’s leadership is split between officials inside Gaza and those abroad, mainly in Qatar. Much of its senior leadership has been decimated by Israeli strikes during the war.
The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel, killing 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures compiled by AFP.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has since killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, figures considered reliable by the UN. More than half of the dead are women and children, though the data does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.