Nearly two years after Hamas’s attack on 7 October 2023, the group has agreed to release all the hostages in response to Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan. On Friday night, the militant group released a statement online announcing they supported Trump’s plan and were willing to release the 20 living hostages – and as many as 28 bodies of hostages – who were kidnapped during their attack on Israel. In the statement, which Trump reposted in full on his Truth Social account, Hamas said it was prepared to do so “according to the exchange formula contained in Trump’s proposal, and as the field conditions for the exchange are met”.
Yet this concession – as momentous as it is – has been granted with a supremely weighted “but”. In its statement, the militant group noted that it appreciated Trump’s efforts to end the war but clarified that it also wanted “to immediately enter into negotiations through the mediators to discuss these details” – a clear signal that there are elements of the plan that it is not ready to agree to outright. The deal, which Trump unveiled during a press conference with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday, has the purported backing of Arab nations. Several of these nations, including Qatar and Egypt, have celebrated Hamas’s response.
In its statement, Hamas also agreed to “hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independent technocrats, based on Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support”. But the statement did not mention certain key points of the plan, notably those that stipulated the group was to give up its arms. Disarming completely has long been a red line for Hamas. Yet Mousa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas official, told Al Jazeera on Friday that the group is willing to give up all of its weapons so long as “the occupation ends and the Palestinians control themselves”.
Another explicit stipulation was the barring of Hamas from any future political activity in Gaza. Yet Hamas noted that the sections of the peace plan that focused on the future of Gaza and Palestine were under discussion “within a national framework” which “Hamas will be a part” and “will contribute responsibly”. Their statement also clarified that it is aiming for a “full withdrawal of the Strip”, something that Netanyahu has already said the IDF will not be doing.
Hamas’s announcement comes just hours after Trump issued a deadline on Truth Social of 18.00 EST on accepting the plan. “If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached,” he wrote, “all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas. THERE WILL BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.”
In response to Hamas’s statement, Trump posted to social media that Israel must immediately cease bombing in Gaza “so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly! Right now, it’s far too dangerous to do that.” He also said that he believed Hamas “are ready for a lasting PEACE” and said that they “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.”
It’s a monumental step but so much is still unclear. How will Netanyahu respond? When will negotiations on the finer details be discussed? What will the outcome of those negotiations be? And could this be the beginning of the end of Hamas’s grip on Gaza?
[Further reading: The world has abandoned the hostages]
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