US President Donald Trump says that after reviewing Hamas’s response to his proposal for ending the Gaza war, he now believes that the terror group is “ready for lasting peace” and that therefore “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,” Trump writes in a shocking Truth Social post.
This is the first time since returning to office that Trump has called on Israel to halt its military offensive in Gaza.
“We are already in discussions on details to be worked out,” he adds.
“This is not about Gaza alone, this is about long sought PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump says, reiterating his belief that an end to the war in Gaza will pave way for the expansion of the Abraham Accords.
Trump posts Hamas’s statement announcing its response to his proposal to end Gaza war
US President Donald Trump posts on Truth Social a copy of Hamas’s statement announcing the group’s response to his proposal for ending the Gaza war.
He does not comment on the proposal further, but it appears to be a sign that he at least somewhat approves of its contents.
Senior Hamas official: US plan’s 72 hour window for releasing hostages ‘unrealistic’
Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk tells Al Jazeera that Hamas accepts in principle the main facets of the US plan for ending the Gaza war, but he argues that the proposal’s “implementation requires negotiation.”
He takes particular issue with the plan’s envisioning of the release of all remaining hostages within 72 hours, calling it “unrealistic under the current circumstances.”
The terror group has, in the past, told Arab mediators that it doesn’t know where some of the bodies of slain hostages are located and that it may take some time to deliver all of them back to Israel.
It is unclear whether the US is interested in holding additional talks or whether it expects Hamas to accept the proposal as is.
Parts of the 20-point plan are indeed vague enough that subsequent talks would have been required regardless. For example, the plan states that Israeli forces “will withdraw to the agreed-upon line” upon the sides’ acceptance of the proposal, without specifying where that line is or whether it still needs to be negotiated.
t is possible that it is referring to the illustrative map demarcating the phased withdrawal of Israeli troops, but the image doesn’t appear to be created to exact scale.
Marzouk says the US plan’s envisioning of the creation of an international stabilization force to replace the IDF in Gaza “requires clarification.”
Marzouk also tells Al Jazeera that Hamas will not disarm before the Israeli “occupation” ends, reiterating that issues regarding Gaza’s future should be discussed within a comprehensive Palestinian national framework, which Hamas will be part of.
He says that another round of negotiations needs to be held regarding Hamas’s weapons.
The US plan doesn’t appear to leave this question up for debate, though, stating that all of them must be destroyed and that Gaza must be demilitarized.
Hamas welcomes parts of US proposal for ending Gaza war, but seeks follow-up talks
The Hanky Panky, more trustworthy than Hamas.
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