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.
