Hamas agrees to release Israeli hostages, offers support to Trump’s Gaza peace plan

GAZA (Palestine):Hamas on Friday (local time) agreed to release all Israeli hostages, whether dead or alive, in response to the 20-point Gaza peace plan introduced by US President Donald Trump earlier this week, Al Jazeera reported.

“In this context, the movement affirms its readiness to immediately enter into negotiations through the mediators to discuss the details of this agreement,” Hamas said in a statement released on Telegram, quoted by Al Jazeera.

The group also agreed to hand over the Gaza administration to an independent Palestinian technocrats’ body “based on Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support.”

“Other issues mentioned in President Trump’s proposal regarding the future of the Gaza Strip and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people are connected to a unified national position and relevant international laws and resolutions,” the statement said, as per Al Jazeera.

“They will be addressed through a comprehensive Palestinian national framework, in which Hamas will participate and contribute responsibly,” the statement added.

The development comes after United States President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) issued a stern warning to Hamas, saying the militant group is “militarily trapped” and has been given a last chance to agree to a peace deal endorsed by regional and global powers.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Hamas has been a ruthless and violent threat, for many years, in the Middle East! They have killed (and made lives unbearably miserable), culminating with the October 7th MASSACRE, in Israel, babies, woman, children, old people, and many young men and women, boys and girls, getting ready to celebrate their future lives together.”

To underscore the scale of the response he described, he continued, “As retribution for the October 7th attack on civilization, more than 25,000 Hamas ‘soldiers’ have already been killed. Most of the rest are surrounded and MILITARILY TRAPPED, just waiting for me to give the word, ‘GO,’ for their lives to be quickly extinguished. As for the rest, we know where and who you are, and you will be hunted down, and killed.”

Urging civilian precaution amid the unfolding plan, Trump called on non-combatants to seek safety, stating, “I am asking that all innocent Palestinians immediately leave this area of potentially great future death for safer parts of Gaza. Everyone will be well cared for by those that are waiting to help.”

Framing the offer as a historic diplomatic opening, he added, “Fortunately for Hamas, however, they will be given one last chance! Great, powerful, and very rich Nations of the Middle East, and the surrounding areas beyond, together with the United States of America, have agreed, with Israel signing on, to PEACE, after 3000 years, in the Middle East. THIS DEAL ALSO SPARES THE LIVES OF ALL REMAINING HAMAS FIGHTERS!”
Highlighting the global reach of the initiative, he wrote, “The details of the document are known to the WORLD, and it is a great one for ALL! We will have PEACE in the Middle East one way or the other. The violence and bloodshed will stop,” Trump wrote.

Making the demand for immediate action explicit, he further demanded the release of hostages, saying, “RELEASES THE HOSTAGES, ALL OF THEM, INCLUDING THE BODIES OF THOSE THAT ARE DEAD, NOW! An Agreement must be reached with Hamas by Sunday Evening at SIX (6) P.M., Washington, D.C. time. Every Country has signed on!”

Issuing an ultimatum on the consequences of refusal, Trump warned, “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.”

Earlier, speaking to reporters on September 30, US President Donald Trump said that Hamas has “about three or four days” to respond to the Gaza peace plan.

Expanding on that timeline to colleagues and the public, he told reporters, “All of the Arab countries are signed up. The Muslim countries are all signed up. Israel is all signed up. We’re just waiting for Hamas, and Hamas is either going to be doing it or not, and if it’s not, it’s going to be a very sad end.”

Emphasising the plan’s urgency and scope, President Trump added, “We want the hostages back immediately, and we want some good behaviour. You don’t get simpler. We’ve signed every country in the Middle East. This is like an impossible thing that has never been done before. This is more than Gaza.”

The remarks came after the announcement of a comprehensive initiative to end the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The plan has received backing from Israel, Arab nations, and other Muslim countries in the region. (ANI)