WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump called on Israel to immediately stop its Gaza bombing campaign to secure the safe extraction of remaining hostages, after Hamas agreed to portions of his peace proposal.
The Palestinian militant group, Hamas, said on Oct. 3 it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of Trump‘s 20-point plan and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.
The U.S. president rolled out his proposal on Sept. 29 from the State Dining Room, alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Based on the Statement just issued by Hamas, 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!” Trump said on Truth Social. “Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that.”
In the statement shared with Reuters, the group also agreed to hand over administration of the Gaza Strip to an independent Palestinian body with Arab and Muslim backing and said it would be willing to discuss other aspects of Trump’s proposal as part of talks.
Missing from the response were commitments to disarm and have no role in Gaza’s governance. Hamas said discussions about the future of Gaza should take place in the context of a “comprehensive Palestinian national framework” that it said it expected to contribute to and would be included in.
But the U.S. president signaled that he was willing to accept the initial terms of a deal. “We are already in discussions on details to be worked out. This is not about Gaza alone, this is about long sought PEACE in the Middle East,” Trump said.
Trump later issued a video-taped statement from the Oval Office in which he thanked Qatar, Turkey and other Middle East nations and said he looks forward to having the remaining Gaza hostages return home.
“This is a big day. We’ll see how this all turns out. We have to get the final word down in concrete,” Trump said, calling it a “very special day” that’s “maybe unprecedented.”
“Everybody was unified in wanting this war to end and seeing peace in the Middle East. And we’re very close to achieving that,” Trump said. “Thank you, all, and everybody will be treated fairly.”
The breakthrough came hours after Trump threatened to hunt down and kill Hamas members and gave the militant group a deadline of the evening of Sunday, Oct. 5, to respond to his proposal.
“If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the first to agree to Trump’s peace proposal during a visit to White House on Sept. 29.
Among the plan’s demands is that Hamas disarm and have no role in governing the enclave. The plan does not explicitly address the idea of a future Palestinian state, which Netanyahu has appeared to rule out.
Hamas killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on communities in southern Israel. Israel responded by launching a military operation in Gaza that two years later has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Israel says the Hamas numbers are not reliable.
Israel believes Hamas is still holding 48 hostages, 20 of whom are thought to be alive.