Plan Accepted

Hamas agreed to release all Israeli hostages but said it needed further negotiations on several key points of President Trump’s peace proposal.

Context

Trump unveiled his 20-point peace plan early last week alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the proposal gaining support from international governments including Qatar and Egypt, two Arab countries that have served as mediators throughout the war. Trump gave Hamas the weekend to respond to the plan, warning of severe consequences if they refused. The proposal called for Hamas to release all hostages within 72 hours, disarm, and give up power in exchange for Israel halting its offensive and releasing Palestinian prisoners.

Conditional Acceptance

Hamas said on Friday that it would release all remaining 48 captives, “both living and deceased,” in line with terms laid out in Trump’s plan.