Hamas responded on Friday night to the proposal of Donald Trump for postwar in Gaza. The Palestinian Islamist group decided not to exhaust the deadline imposed by the president of the United States and accepted the release of the hostages that it still has in its possession “according to the exchange formula contained in the proposal of President Trump, already measured that the conditions on the ground for the exchange are met.”
That is, in the first 17 hours from the entry into force of an agreement that compromises Israel to stop the ongoing military operations, “including air and artillery bombings”, as well as to freeze the battle lines “until the conditions for the complete withdrawal in stages are met,” according to the White House route.
As a counterpart to the release of the 48 kidnapped – of which only 20 remain alive, according to Israeli estimates – Hamas asks to negotiate several chapters of the 20 -point proposal that the White House announced last Monday during the visit of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. A request that Trump welcomed.
Last Tuesday, the American president had offered Hamas “three or four days” to make a decision. On Friday afternoon, however, he extended the deadline until Sunday at 6:00 p.m. (00:00 hours in peninsular Spain). In case of receiving a refusal, Trump had threatened to open the doors of hell “as never seen before” for Hamas.
Through a statement recorded from the Oval Office, however, Trump celebrated this Friday being more “close” than ever closing the agreement and thanked the mediation work of Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan “and many other” Arab and Islamic countries involved in conversations.
“This is a great day. We’ll see how everything ends. We have to realize the final decision,” he celebrated. “In many ways, it is something unprecedented. Everyone was united in their desire that this war would end and see peace in the Middle East, and we are very close to achieving it.”
In a previous publication on its social truth platform, Trump said he was convinced that Hamas was “ready for lasting peace” and urged Israel to stop “immediately” the bombings in Gaza to allow the captives to leave the strip “safely and quickly.”
“We are already in the midst of conversations about the details that must be closed. It is not just about Gaza; it is the desired peace in the Middle East,” he settled.
According to the Israeli press, Netanyahu considered at first that Hamas’s response had been a nobut the prime minister was surprised by Trump’s reception. Therefore, his office announced shortly after through a statement that “in the light of Hamas’s response, Israel prepares for the immediate implementation of the first phase of the Trump plan for the immediate release of all the kidnapped.”
According to digital Axiosthe Israel Defense Forces (FDI), who prepared the final assault on Gaza City, will only carry out “defensive operations” in the strip and stop the operation to occupy the capital of the enclave.
The Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Pellet pronounhe declared at dawn to have initiated the preparations to implement the first phase of the Trump agreement for the release of the hostages.
As soon as the kidnapped leave Gaza, the Hebrew State assumes the obligation to release 250 Palestinian prisoners convicted of life imprisonment, in addition to another 1,700 Gazati – among which women and minors are arrested since October 7, 2023.
Pending issues
Despite the initial optimism of the White House, there are several issues that are pending resolution.
In his reply, Hamas also accepted the proposal to “deliver the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian organism of independent technocrats, based on the Palestinian National Consensus and the Arab and Islamic support.” A clause that differs from Trump’s original proposal to put the governance of the enclave in the hands of an “apolitical” committee supervised by a “Peace Board” that will preside over the same and in which the former British Prime Minister will have a reserved seat Tony Blair.
The Islamist group also did not resign to be part of the debate in the Palestinian national framework on matters “related to the future of the Gaza Strip and the inherent rights of the Palestinian people.” “Hamas will be part of him and will contribute full responsibility,” says the organization’s statement, which Trump himself shared in Truth.
In other words, Hamas aspires to continue being a political actor for postwar period. A premise that Netanyahu is not willing to assume.
Another sensitive issue is disarmament. A high command of the Palestinian militia clarified this Friday to the Catarà television network Al Jazera That they will not give up weapons “before the Israeli occupation of Gaza ends”, despite the fact that Trump’s plan proposes to initiate “a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of independent observers” when the parties subscribe it.
Osama HamdanMember of the Political Bureau of Hamas, explained this Friday after making public the letter addressed to Trump that the group intends to renegotiate several points of the proposal.
In statements collected by the portal Drop Site NewsHamdan asked to start with “the procedures of the exchange itself [de rehenes]: The figures, the environment necessary to carry it out, the delivery of the bodies, the cessation of the aggression so that it can be completed, the Israeli withdrawal of certain areas, the return of the displaced Palestinians, the entry of help. “” All this is part of the same package, “he said.
The international community closes ranks
The reactions of the international community did not wait. And they were unanimous. The UN Secretary General, António Guterreshe confessed to feel encouraged by Hamas’s statement. “Guterres urges all parties to take the opportunity to end the tragic conflict in Gaza,” said his spokesman, Stephane Dujarricthrough a statement.
Catar resumed the mediation work to trace the agreement and Egypt, another of the intermediaries, expressed his desire that in the next few days there will be a “positive development” of the conversations that allows to materialize the Washington roadmap.
For its part, the French president Emmanuel Macron He acknowledged that Hamas’s decision is an “opportunity to advance decisively to peace.” “The liberation of all hostages and the high fire in Gaza are available! Hamas’s commitment must be fulfilled without delay. We now have the opportunity to advance decisively towards peace,” he wrote on the social network X.
The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmercelebrated what happened as “a significant step forward” and reiterated its willingness to “support new negotiations and work for sustainable peace for Israelis and Palestinians equally.”