Hamas agrees to Gaza plan in part, says will release hostages

Hamas agreed to release the last of the hostages from its 2023 attack on Israel but said the rest of a US peace plan would be subject to negotiation, a stance that offered uncertain hopes for an end to the conflict in Gaza. Hamas is still holding 48 people with Israel believing around 20 are still alive.

President Donald Trump responded favourably to the Hamas statement even though the group failed to address other key elements of his 20-point proposal that Israel has also demanded, including that it disarm. "I believe they are ready for a lasting PEACE," Trump said of Hamas in a social media post. "Israel must immediately stop the bombing of Gaza, so that we can get the Hostages out safely and quickly!"

As Israel reined in its offensive and prepared for further talks with Hamas, Gazans welcomed the news with anxious hope. "It's happy news, it saves those who are still alive," said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta in Gaza. agencies

Israel readies for rollout of Trump's Gaza plan phase 1: Release of hostages
Soon after Hamas agreed to US' Gaza peace plan in part, the Israeli PM's office said Saturday it was preparing to "immediately implement the first phase of Trump's plan for the immediate release of all hostages".

US President Donald Trump thanked the Muslim-majority nations he credited with assisting in the negotiations and pledged that "everybody will be treated fairly" in ongoing talks. "This is a big day," Trump said.

Hamas agrees to let body of technocrats run Gaza
In its statement released late Friday night, Hamas, for the first time, has shown its readiness to release all the hostages with few apparent conditions. There was no demand for a permanent ceasefire, for example.

Hamas said it agreed "to release all Israeli prisoners - both living and deceased - in accordance with the exchange formula outlined in President Trump's proposal, and contingent upon the necessary field conditions for carrying out the exchange." It said the hostages would need to be released "in a manner that ensures the cessation of the war and the full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip," a caveat that raised questions in Israel about whether the group would go through with the plan.

Hamas' statement also said the group agreed "to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independent technocrats, based on Palestinian national consensus and Arab and Islamic support."

The group said other parts of Trump's 20-point plan "require a unified national stance and must be addressed based on relevant international laws and resolutions." There was also no mention of Trump's proposal for the involvement of a "Board of Peace" to be chaired by Trump and involve other world leaders, including former UK PM Tony Blair.

"We will enter negotiations regarding all issues related to the movement and weapons," senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk said to Qatari network Al Jazeera.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas which took part in the Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel, endorsed the group's response to the US plan. Its approval of the plan could help facilitate the release of hostages held by both groups in Gaza.

It was unclear whether Hamas would relent on proposals it previously considered unacceptable. Its statement did not address whether the group would give up its arms, if Hamas had agreed to a stipulation barring it from exercising political power in Gaza in the future, or if it saw a place for itself or its members among the body of technocrats.

A ray of hope for Gazans
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.

"It's happy news, it saves those who are still alive," said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas' response and Trump's intervention. "This is enough. Everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing."

Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: "We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive. Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough."