Late in the evening, and thus respecting the ultimatum issued by the US president last Wednesday, Hamas officially announced that it was ready to release all hostages , as foreseen in the detailed 20-point plan proposed by Donald Trump, and that it was available to begin negotiations "immediately" on the details of the American proposal.

The organization also expressed its agreement to transfer control of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian entity , based on Arab and Islamic support, while noting that additional issues, mentioned in Trump's proposal, remain that require further discussion.

Trump's statement came quickly: " Based on the statement just released by Hamas, I believe they are ready for a lasting peace. Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza so that we can safely and quickly free the hostages."

However, the Palestinian organization made no mention of two points in particular in its statement: disarmament and the presence of an international force in the Strip . Instead, announcing "its willingness to release all Israeli hostages—living and deceased—according to the exchange mechanism envisaged in President Trump's document," it emphasized "provided that the possibilities exist on the ground to do so."

The statement also states in its final sentence: "The other issues included in the proposal regarding the future of the Gaza Strip and the inherent rights of the Palestinian people are linked to a comprehensive national position and based on relevant international laws and resolutions. They will be discussed within a comprehensive Palestinian national framework, within which Hamas will be a part and to which it will contribute responsibly."

That is, Hamas evidently still believes it can negotiate its role in the post-war phase . This option, however, is unlikely to be accepted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as by the Trump administration, which appears to have very different plans for the Strip, at least from what the US document suggests.

There's still much to discuss, and the conference on the future of Gaza will be held in Egypt . The first round will begin tomorrow in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was surprised by US President Donald Trump's statement that Hamas is "ready for a lasting peace" and called on Israel to immediately halt its attacks on Gaza. Netanyahu reportedly viewed the terrorist group's response as a rejection of the American proposal .

But the IDF has suspended attacks on the Gaza Strip since this morning , the Israeli newspaper N12 reports. The directive from the political leadership is to defend itself and attack only when a threat is identified .

“We are very close to peace in the Middle East,” Trump exulted, calling it a historic day.

But doubts remain: on the one hand, Hamas does not accept all the points of the plan, on the other, Israel—which is "preparing to implement the first phase of the plan"—is not hiding its doubts. And Gaza City remains under siege; the IDF is not withdrawing but is remaining on the lines it has reached so far .

(Unioneonline)

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