Hamas signaled on Friday that it is willing to release the remaining hostages it is holding, but the terror group does not seem ready to accept President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza.
Hamas released a statement responding to Trump’s plan, agreeing to release all of the remaining hostages and hand over administration of Gaza to an independent Palestinian body, according to Axios Global Affairs Correspondent Barak Ravid. However, Hamas did not agree to disarm, a major point in the plan laid out by President Trump earlier this week. The group also did not address Trump’s offer to give terrorists amnesty to live in Gaza or the option to be given safe passage elsewhere if they lay down their weapons.
In a statement, Hamas said it would release the remaining hostages “according to the exchange formula contained in President Trump’s proposal, and as the field conditions for the exchange are met.” According to the plan, Israel would also be forced to turn over “250 life sentence prisoners plus 1,700 Gazans who were detained after October 7th 2023, including all women and children detained in that context.”
“In this context, the movement affirms its readiness to immediately enter into negotiations through the mediators to discuss these details,” Hamas said.
Without Hamas agreeing to the other terms of the deal, however, Israel might not be willing to agree to the release hundreds of prisoners.
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Trump warned the terror group on Friday morning that it had until 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday to agree to the peace plan before “all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against” Hamas. The president made clear that this was the “LAST CHANCE” for the terrorists.
The statement from Hamas could be a ploy to buy time after Trump’s ultimatum, as it seeks more favorable terms. Muslim nations in the Middle East, including Qatar and Egypt, issued a joint statement welcoming Trump’s “sincere efforts to end the war in Gaza” earlier this week, but Hamas has remained hesitant to agree to the deal.
Trump said on Friday morning that the United States knows where the remaining Hamas fighters are hiding, adding that if the terror group does not agree to the peace plan, “You will be hunted down, and killed.”