US President Donald Trump on Friday said Israel must immediately stop bombing Gaza, after Hamas said it would release all remaining hostages.
The US leader had set a deadline for Hamas to respond to his 20-point proposal or face "hell". After the group issued a statement addressing the proposal, Mr Trump said he believes Hamas are ready for peace.
"Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!" he wrote.
In a video released later on his Truth Social network, Mr Trump thanked the countries that worked on the peace plan, naming Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan.
"This is a big day," he said from the Oval Office. "We'll see how it all turns out. We have to get the final word down in concrete."
He added that everyone was going to be "treated fairly".
Hamas on Friday responded to the US President's proposed peace plan for Gaza, just hours after he issued a deadline for the group to reach an agreement or face "hell".
The group agreed to release all Israeli hostages captured in its October 7, 2023 attack but said other aspects of Mr Trump’s peace plan would be subject to negotiation.
A statement by the group said its response was formulated after "exhaustive" consultations within its leadership, other Palestinian factions as well as mediators and friends. The objective, it added, was to "reach a responsible position to deal with" Mr Trump's plan.
The President posted an image of the Hamas response on social media and the White House said he would soon make a statement.
Hamas said it welcomed Mr Trump's efforts to end the war in Gaza, agreed to the release of all 48 hostages and said it was ready to immediately enter negotiations to discuss the details.
However, the statement said the future of Gaza and the rights of Palestinians should be decided by "national consensus" and be based on relevant international and laws and resolutions.
Sources, however, told The National, that the Hamas response handed to mediators on Friday was much more detailed than the statement and sought clarifications on parts of Mr Trump's 20-point proposal.
The militant group also said in its response it cannot hand over all hostages it is holding within 72 hours, as demanded by Mr Trump's plan.
The sources said communication with operatives holding some of the 48 has been lost in the intensity of Israel's military operations in Gaza. In addition, the remains of deceased hostages will be difficult to locate and exhume since they were in tunnels that have now been destroyed. Of the 48 hostages, 20 are believed to be alive.
"It's a generally positive response" from Hamas, said one of the sources, noting that leading Arab nations, including Egypt, have welcomed Mr Trump's plan as a strong foundation that could be built on through negotiations.
The sources said Hamas's response implicitly rejected the plan's provision that it immediately surrenders its arms, suggesting instead that it remains open to laying down its weapons under international supervision.
Earlier on Friday, Mr Trump issued a deadline for Hamas to sign his ceasefire and hostage release deal that also envisions a complete redevelopment of the Gaza Strip.
“Every country has signed on! If this last chance agreement is not reached, 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,” he wrote on Truth Social.
He urged “all innocent Palestinians” to immediately leave “this area of potentially great future death for safer parts of Gaza”, without specifying which areas would be safe or dangerous.
Hamas also wants a timetable for Israel's proposed withdrawal from Gaza, specific details on how postwar Gaza would be run by a panel of independent Palestinian technocrats supervised by an international body and the role of the international force that Mr Trump's plan provides for its deployment in Gaza to maintain security, said the sources.
The group also wanted the US and Israel to provide it with guarantees that its leaders would not be targeted after the group lays down its arms or when they leave Gaza to live in exile, according to the sources.
Mr Trump unveiled his peace plan on Monday during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington.
The plan states that Hamas will disarm and have no future role in governing Gaza, but members who put down arms would be granted amnesty and be allowed to leave.
It also sets out plans for a gradual Israeli withdrawal and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian detainees.
The proposal also allows the Israeli military to carve out a buffer zone along the perimeter of the coastal enclave, something that the sources said Hamas would not object to.
Control of Gaza would be handed to a temporary governing committee led by Mr Trump. He also gave former British prime minister Tony Blair a leadership role.
Palestinians would not be required to leave the territory, reversing a controversial plan Mr Trump had floated.
Earlier on Friday, a Hamas official described it as an “Israeli plan”, adding that it “does not meet the ambitions and needs” of Palestinians.
“Not a single clause or paragraph in this plan addresses the rights of the Palestinian people or guarantees anything for them,” said the official.
“There are no guarantees whatsoever in the implementation of this plan, neither in terms of setting a timetable for withdrawal from Gaza, nor in ensuring that aggression will not resume, nor in sending aid, nor in reconstructing.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that if Hamas does not accept the plan, "the consequences, unfortunately, are going to be very tragic".
On Wednesday, Ms Leavitt had said “very sensitive discussions” were taking place with Mr Trump and envoy Steve Witkoff, without elaborating.
Deteriorating situation
Mr Trump's warning comes amid growing global pressure to end the war in Gaza, which started in 2023 after Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
More than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to Gaza's health authorities, and much of the territory has been reduced to rubble.
Newborns and mothers in Gaza are facing catastrophic conditions, Unicef spokesman James Elder said on Friday, as overwhelmed hospitals in the south face an influx of patients in the face of intensified Israeli attacks on Gaza city.
“The situation for mothers and newborns has never been worse. In six missions to Gaza, I have never seen it like this,” he said, describing his visit to Al Nasser Hospital in the south.
Mr Elder described designated safe zones where families are being ordered to move to as “places of death”.
“The question I am asked everywhere in Gaza city – from women, from the elderly and from children – is: ‘Where can I go that will be safe?' And the answer remains the same after almost two years: nowhere. Nowhere is safe in the Gaza Strip,” he said.
The World Health Organisation estimates more than 10,000 children in the enclave have sustained “life-changing injuries”, including amputations, spinal cord damage, traumatic brain damage, major burns and facial scarring that will cause disfigurement.
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
Biography
Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related
Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
INDIA SQUADS
India squad for third Test against Sri Lanka
Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar
India squad for ODI series against Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul
Scoreline
Australia 2-1 Thailand
Australia: Juric 69', Leckie 86'
Thailand: Pokklaw 82'
Honeymoonish
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Oscars in the UAE
The 90th Academy Awards will be aired in the UAE from 3.30am on Monday, March 5 on OSN, with the ceremony starting at 5am
ARM%20IPO%20DETAILS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EShare%20price%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETarget%20raise%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%248%20billion%20to%20%2410%20billion%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EProjected%20valuation%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2460%20billion%20to%20%2470%20billion%20(Source%3A%20Bloomberg)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ELead%20underwriters%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Barclays%2C%20Goldman%20Sachs%20Group%2C%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20and%20Mizuho%20Financial%20Group%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The view from The National
Dubai Rugby Sevens
November 30, December 1-2
International Vets
Christina Noble Children’s Foundation fixtures
Thursday, November 30:
10.20am, Pitch 3, v 100 World Legends Project
1.20pm, Pitch 4, v Malta Marauders
Friday, December 1:
9am, Pitch 4, v SBA Pirates
The%20specs
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
BMW%20M4%20Competition
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Aston martin DBX specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Top speed: 291kph
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: Q2, 2020
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Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
RESULTS
6.30pm: Longines Conquest Classic Dh150,000 Maiden 1,200m.
Winner: Halima Hatun, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ismail Mohammed (trainer).
7.05pm: Longines Gents La Grande Classique Dh155,000 Handicap 1,200m.
Winner: Moosir, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm: Longines Equestrian Collection Dh150,000 Maiden 1,600m.
Winner: Mazeed, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
8.15pm: Longines Gents Master Collection Dh175,000 Handicap.
Winner: Thegreatcollection, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Longines Ladies Master Collection Dh225,000 Conditions 1,600m.
Winner: Cosmo Charlie, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
9.25pm: Longines Ladies La Grande Classique Dh155,000 Handicap 1,600m.
Winner: Secret Trade, Tadhg O’Shea, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
10pm: Longines Moon Phase Master Collection Dh170,000 Handicap 2,000m.
Winner:
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club race card
5pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic (PA) Prestige; Dh110,000; 1,400m
5.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic (PA) Prestige; Dh110,000; 1,400m
6pm: Maiden (PA); Dh80,000; 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (PA) Listed; Dh180,000; 1,600m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap; Dh70,000; 2,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (PA); Dh100,000; 2,400m
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Race card
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
