**Hamas Accepts Some Elements of Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan, Further Talks Needed**
*DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP)* — Hamas announced on Friday that it has accepted certain elements of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in the Gaza Strip, including relinquishing power and releasing all remaining hostages. However, it said other aspects of the proposal require further consultations among Palestinians.
The announcement came just hours after Trump set a Sunday evening deadline for Hamas to agree to the deal, threatening a more intense military onslaught nearly two years into the war that began after the October 7 attack into Israel.
There was no immediate response from the United States or Israel, which is largely observing the Jewish Sabbath.
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**Hamas Willing to Release Hostages and Relinquish Power**
Hamas expressed willingness to return all remaining hostages in accordance with the plan’s formula, likely implying the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange. The group also reiterated its longstanding openness to transferring power to a politically independent Palestinian authority.
However, Hamas emphasized that elements of the proposal concerning the future of Gaza and Palestinian rights should be decided through a unanimous Palestinian stance reached in consultation with other factions and based on international law.
Notably, the statement made no mention of Hamas disarming—a key Israeli demand included in Trump’s proposal.
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**Details of Trump’s Peace Plan**
Trump’s plan, unveiled earlier this week alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, aims to end the fighting and secure the release of dozens of hostages ahead of the second anniversary of the October 7 attack. The proposal has been accepted by Israel and welcomed internationally, though key mediators such as Egypt and Qatar have called for further negotiations on certain points.
Under the plan:
– Hamas would immediately release the remaining 48 hostages, around 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
– Hamas would relinquish power and disarm.
– Israel would halt its offensive, withdraw from much of Gaza, release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and allow an influx of humanitarian aid alongside eventual reconstruction.
– Plans to relocate much of Gaza’s population to other countries would be shelved.
– The roughly two million Palestinians in Gaza would be placed under international governance, overseen by Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The plan does not provide a clear path toward reunification with the Israeli-occupied West Bank in a future Palestinian state.
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**Hamas Official Calls for Further Negotiations**
Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official based outside Gaza, told Al Jazeera the proposal cannot be implemented without negotiations. He noted that releasing all hostages within 72 hours, as stipulated, may be difficult because it could take time to locate some captives, including remains.
Abu Marzouk said Hamas is willing to hand over its weapons to a future Palestinian authority governing Gaza but acknowledged this was not mentioned in the official Hamas statement.
He also criticized the proposal’s language about “ridding Gaza of terrorists,” stating that Hamas views itself as a national liberation movement rather than a terrorist group. He expressed interest in learning more about the international forces that would help police Gaza post-conflict.
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**U.S. and Israel Intensify Pressure on Hamas**
Since ending a ceasefire in March, Israel has increased pressure on Hamas by sealing off Gaza from food, medicine, and other goods for two and a half months. The Israeli military has seized and largely depopulated significant areas of Gaza. Experts indicated that Gaza City had descended into famine shortly before Israel launched a major offensive aimed at occupying the city.
An estimated 400,000 people have fled Gaza City in recent weeks, though hundreds of thousands remain. Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the United Nations humanitarian office, reported seeing displaced families sheltering in the parking lot of Shifa Hospital during a recent visit.
“They are not able to move south because they just cannot afford it,” Cherevko told The Associated Press. She described vulnerable cases including families with children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
Trump wrote on social media that most Hamas fighters are “surrounded and militarily trapped,” waiting on his command to be eliminated. He further warned that the rest would be “hunted down and killed.”
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**Hamas Retains Influence Despite Heavy Losses**
Despite the killing of many top Hamas leaders and thousands of fighters, the group maintains influence in areas outside Israeli military control and continues to launch sporadic attacks that have wounded and killed Israeli soldiers.
Hamas has maintained that it will only release the remaining hostages—its sole bargaining chip—in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has rejected these terms, insisting that Hamas must surrender and disarm.
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**Approaching Second Anniversary of October 7 Attack**
On October 7, 2023, thousands of Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, attacking army bases, farming communities, and an outdoor music festival. The attacks killed approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and resulted in the abduction of 251 others, most of whom have since been released under ceasefires or other agreements.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. While the ministry does not specify how many were civilians or combatants, it reports that women and children constitute around half of the fatalities. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the United Nations and many independent experts consider its figures the most reliable estimate of casualties.
The offensive has displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population, sometimes multiple times, and has left much of the territory uninhabitable.
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**International Efforts to End Fighting Continue**
Both the Biden and Trump administrations have worked to end the fighting and secure the release of hostages while offering extensive military and diplomatic support to Israel.
As the two-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks approaches, the world watches closely to see whether an agreement can be reached to bring peace to Gaza and the wider region.
https://ktar.com/national-news/hamas-trump-gaza-peace-plan/5757542/
